Electric-Vehicle Charging Apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for a power system. The apparatus includes multiple electrical power sources and an enclosure operatively connected to the power sources at multiple input terminals. Multiple loads operatively connect to the enclosure at multiple output terminals by multiple cables. The enclosure includes the input terminals and the output terminals and a controller unit. Multiple selection units operatively connect to the controller unit, multiple power converters are connected to multiple connection paths. The selection units connect to at least one of multiple switches connected in the connection paths. Multiple sensor units are operatively attached to the controller unit which is configured to sence multiple parameters in the connection paths. Responsive to the parameters sensed by the sensor units, the selection units select the connection paths between the electrical power sources and the loads.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/872,287, filed on Jan. 16, 2018, which claims priority toand claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/448,194, which was filed on Jan. 19, 2017, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/512,333, which was filed on May 30, 2017, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/513,160, which was filed on May31, 2017, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/521,635, whichwas filed on Jun. 19, 2017, each of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Renewable power systems (e.g., photovoltaic, wind turbine,hydro-electric, to name a few non-limiting examples) may feature adirect current to alternating current (DC/AC) inverter for convertingdirect current (DC) power generated by renewable power sources toalternating current (AC) for consumption by electrical loads and/or forproviding to an electrical grid. Electrical vehicles (EVs) may berechargeable by home-charging circuits which may provide AC and/or DCpower to EV on-board energy storage devices, such as batteries. Powersystems at certain locations (e.g., homes) may include both an inverterand an EV charger, which may feature separate enclosures, separatecontrol, monitoring and/or communication devices, and separateelectronic circuits.

SUMMARY

The following summary is a short summary of some of the inventiveconcepts for illustrative purposes only, and is not intended to limit orconstrain the inventions and examples in the detailed description. Oneskilled in the art will recognize other novel combinations and featuresfrom the detailed description.

Embodiments herein may employ integrated inverter-EV charger (IIEVC)circuits and associated apparatuses and methods for controllingoperation of an integrated inverter-EV charger.

In illustrative embodiments, an integrated inverter-EV-charger (IIEVC)may include an inverter circuit, and one or more of a direct current(DC) EV-charger and an alternating current (AC) EV-charger.

Illustrative embodiments disclosed herein may include an inverterdesigned to receive a DC voltage at the inverter input and provide an ACvoltage at the inverter circuit output. The AC voltage may besingle-phase or multi-phase (e.g., three-phase). In some embodiments,the inverter may be configured to provide Maximum Power Point Tracking(MPPT) functionality to draw increased power from coupled renewablepower sources (e.g., PV generators). In some embodiments, the invertermay be communicatively coupled to additional power modules (e.g., DC/DCconverters) configured to provide MPPT functionality at a more granular(e.g., per PV-generator) level.

The inverter may be designed to convert power from a variety of powersources. In some embodiments, the inverter may be configured to convertDC photovoltaic voltage and/or power received from PV generators (e.g.,one or more PV cells, PV cell substrings, PV cell strings, PV panels,strings of PV panels, PV shingles and/or PV roof tiles). In someembodiments, the inverter may convert power received from one or morefuel cells, batteries, wind turbines, flywheels or other power sources.In some embodiments, an inverter device may receive an AC voltage and/orpower input, and may include a rectifier circuit to convert the ACvoltage to a DC voltage, with an inverter circuit configured to convertthe DC voltage to an AC output voltage.

In illustrative embodiments, an IIEVC may feature certain componentswhich may be shared by both an inverter circuit and an EV-chargercircuit. For example, in some embodiments, a single enclosure may houseboth the inverter circuit and the EV-charger circuit. In someembodiments, the inverter circuit and the EV-charger circuit may behoused in separate enclosures mechanically designed to be easilyattachable. In some embodiments, additional circuitry may be housed inan enclosure along with the EV-charger circuit, with the additionalcircuitry which may be coupled to the inverter circuit. For example, asingle enclosure may house an EV-charger circuit along with a safetydevice, with the joint EV-charger circuit and safety device apparatuselectrically connectable (e.g., via suitably interconnecting connectors)to the inverter circuit and the enclosure mechanically connectable to anenclosure housing the inverter circuit.

In some embodiments, the inverter circuit and the EV-charger circuit mayshare one or more communication devices. In some embodiments,information and/or measurements obtained from and/or pertaining to theinverter circuit and the EV-charger circuit may be displayed on a singleon-device monitor, remote monitor, mobile application or othermonitoring and display devices. In some embodiments, a shared graphicaluser interface (GUI) may be provided to a user. In some embodiments, theuser may be able to manually control operation of the inverter circuitand/or the EV-charger circuit via the shared GUI.

In some embodiments, the one or more communication devices may beconfigured to communicate with a second communication device which may apart of the EV.

In some embodiments, the inverter circuit and the EV-charger circuit mayshare a control device configured to control operation of the inverterand the EV-charger. In some embodiments, a shared control device may beconfigured to manage power production by the inverter andcharging/discharging of an EV energy storage device.

In further embodiments, electrical circuitry may be shared by theinverter circuit and the EV-charger circuit. For example, a DC EVcharger may share DC voltage inputs with the inverter circuit. Asanother example, an AC EV charger may share AC voltage terminals withthe inverter circuit. In some embodiments, sensors may be configured tomeasure one or more parameters (e.g., voltage, current, power,temperature, isolation, etc.) affecting the operation of both theinverter circuit and an EV charger circuit. In some embodiments, theparameters may be provided to a shared control device and/or displayedor monitored on a shared monitoring device. In some embodiments, sharedsafety devices (e.g., Residual Current Detectors/Ground Fault DetectorInterrupters, fuses, safety relays) may be disposed to detect and/orrespond to a potentially unsafe condition affecting the inverter circuitand/EV-charger circuit.

In some embodiments, the EV-charger circuit and the inverter may sharecomponents external to the IIEVC. For example, a single IIEVC includingan inverter and an EV-charger circuit may be connected to an electricalpanel via a single circuit breaker, which may require less time and costthan the time and cost associated with installing an inverter and anEV-charger circuit separately to an electrical panel (e.g., via twoseparate circuit breakers).

In some embodiments, the inverter may be replaced by a direct-current todirect-current (DC/DC) converter configured to provide a DC output to aDC grid and/or coupled DC loads. For simplicity, reference will be madeto an inverter throughout the disclosure (including in the acronymIIEVC—Integrated Inverter Electric Vehicle Charger), but this is not tobe a limitation on the disclosure.

According to illustrative embodiments disclosed herein, an IIEVC may becommunicatively connected to a Graphical User Interface (GUI) viewableand/or accessible to a user via a monitor mounted on the enclosure ofthe IIEVC or an external monitor (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, computermonitor, server etc.). The GUI may, in addition display operationalinformation and/or allow manual control of the operation of the IIEVC.The Graphical User Interface (GUI) may additionally be available on aconnector and/or plug which is connectable to corresponding receptacleand/or socket of the EV. The socket may be connected to the IIEVC via acable. The connector may include seletable power conversion circuitrywhich enables either DC or AC power to be received from the IEVC and toconvert either DC or AC power input power to an output power suitable tocharge a storage device of the EV. Either DC or AC power input power tothe IIEVC may also be selectable form a number of different powersources which may be available. Selection of input power to the IIEVCform a number of different power sources may be responsive to costsaassocaited with the cost of supply in each path from each of the powersources, required power levels in terms of voltages and curentspotentially available in each path and/or current charge levels ofstorage devices.

As noted above, this Summary is merely a summary of some of the featuresdescribed herein and is provided to introduce a selection of concepts ina simplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. The Summary is not exhaustive, is not intended to identifykey features or essential features of the claimed subject matter and isnot to be a limitation on the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, claims, and drawings. The present disclosure is illustratedby way of example, and not limited by, the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1A is part schematic, part block-diagram depicting aspects of apower system configuration according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates a flow of power from a power source to an EVaccording to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 1C illustrates a flow of power from a power source to an EVaccording to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 1D illustrates a flow of power from a power source to an EVaccording to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 1E illustrates a flow of power from a power source to an EVaccording to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 1F illustrates a flow of power from a power source to an EVaccording to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 1G illustrates a flow of power from a power source to an EVaccording to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 2A is part schematic, part block-diagram depicting aspects of anintegrated inverter-EV charger (IIEVC) according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 2B is part schematic, part block-diagram depicting aspects of anintegrated inverter-EV charger (IIEVC) according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 3 is part schematic, part block-diagram depicting aspects of anintegrated inverter-EV charger (IIEVC) according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 4A is an illustrative mockup of a graphical user interface for anelectrical system including an IIEVC according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 4B is an illustrative mockup of elements of a graphical userinterface for an electrical system including an IIEVC according toillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates power flow in a power system according toillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 6A is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for controllingcharging of an EV in an electrical system according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 6B illustrates a method for controlling charging of an EV in anelectrical system according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a power system configurationaccording to according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for controllingthe charging of an EV, according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram depicting a power system according toillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram depicting a cable according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram depicting a power system according toillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative embodiment of a connector which may bepart of a cable of FIG. 11, according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a power system according to illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 14A shows an add-on clamp according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 14B shows an embodiment of an add-on clamp according toillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 15 shows a connector according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 16 shows a cable add-on according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 17A shows a block diagram of a power system according toillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 17B-17C show an illustrative embodiment of a connector configuredto connect to a cable add-on according to illustrative embodiments.

FIG. 18 illustrates a flow chart of a method for charging a load using acable, according to illustrative embodiments.

FIGS. 19A-19C block diagrams of exemplary power system configuirationsaccording to illustrative embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of various illustrative embodiments,reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a parthereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, variousembodiments in which aspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It isto be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structuraland functional modifications may be made, without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

The term “multiple” as used here in the detailed description indicatesthe property of having or involving several parts, elements, or members.The claim term “a plurality of” as used herein in the claims sectionfinds support in the description with use of the term “multiple” and/orother plural forms. Other plural forms may include for example regularnouns that form their plurals by adding either the letter ‘s’ or ‘es’ sothat the plural of converter is converters or the plural of switch isswitches for example.

The claim terms “comprise”, “comprises” and/or “comprising” as usedherein in the claims section finds support in the description with useof the terms “include”, “includes” and/or “including”.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1A, which shows a block diagram of a powersystem 100 configuration according to illustrative embodiments. Powersystem 100 may include power source 101. In some embodiments, powersource 101 may include, batteries, capacitors, stoage devices, or anysuitable generator such as such as, for example, one or more PV cells,PV cell substrings, PV cell strings, PV panels, strings of PV panels, PVshingles, and/or PV roof tiles, to name a few non-limiting examples.Power source 101 may provide input power to integrated inverter-EVcharger (IIEVC) 102.

IIEVC 102 may be variously realized. In the illustrative embodiment ofFIG. 1A, IIEVC 102 includes enclosure 112, where enclosure 112 may housepower converter 103, DC charging circuit 104, and AC charging circuit105. Enclosure 112 may include terminals inside and cable glands (notshown) to terminate cables both mechanically and electrically toenclosure 112. The cables may connect power source 101 and storage 106to enclosure 112, electric panel 113 to enclosure 112 and IIEVC 102 toEV 107. IIEVC 102 may provide power to EV 107 through AC chargingcircuit 105 and/or DC charging circuit 104. The path of provided powerby the one or more power sources to EV 107 may be controlled by acontroller or a control device which may be a part of IIEVC 102. Furtherdetails of the potentuial paths of power provided to EV107 are describedin the descriptions which follow.

Power converter 103 may receive power from power source 101 and provideoutput power to loads 110 and/or power grid 111. In some embodiments,power source 101 may be a DC power source and storage device 106 and DCcharging circuit 104 may be configured to receive DC power. Further inthese embodiments, power converter 103 may be a DC/AC converter (e.g.,an inverter) and loads 110 and power grid 111 may be configured toreceive AC power from power converter 103. In some embodiments, powersource 101 may be an AC power source, and DC charging circuit 104 andstorage device 106 may be configured to receive AC power. Further inthese embodiments, power converter 103 may be an AC/AC converter (e.g.,a rectifier circuit coupled to an inverter) and loads 110 and power grid111 may be configured to receive AC power from power converter 103. Insome embodiments, power source 101 may be a DC power source, withstorage device 106, DC charging circuit 104 and AC charging circuit 105configured to receive DC power. Power converter 103 may be a DC/DCconverter, AC charging circuit 105 may include a DC/AC converter andloads 110 and power grid 111 (e.g., a DC microgrid and/or a home powergrid) may receive DC power from power converter 103. For simplicity,with regard to FIG. 1A and further embodiments disclosed herein, powersource 101 will be considered to be a DC power source (e.g., aphotovoltaic power generator) and power converter 103 will be consideredto be a DC/AC converter (e.g., an inverter), without limiting the scopeof the disclosure.

In some embodiments, power grid 111 may include one or more power gridsand/or microgrids, power generators, energy storage devices and/orloads.

In some embodiments, loads 110 may include home appliances (e.g.,refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, lights, washing machine, microwave and PC,workshop tools (e.g., compressor, electric saw, lathe and sander) and/orAC energy storage devices. Power converters mentioned herein (e.g.,power converter 103 of FIG. 1A, optionally power converters included inDC charging circuit 104 and AC charging circuit 105, and powerconverters 203 and 303, discussed below) may be DC/DC, DC/AC, AC/AC orAC/DC converters, depending on the type of power source 101, loads 110and/or power grid 111. The power converters may be isolated (e.g., byuse of an internal transformer) or non-isolated, and may include, forexample, full bridge circuits, Buck converters, Boost converters,Buck-Boost converters, Buck+Boost converters, Flyback converters,Forward converters, Cuk converters, charge pumps, or other types ofconverters.

For visual simplicity, FIG. 1A illustrates functional electricalconnections using single line. A single-line may represent one or morecables including one or more conductors.

In some embodiments, electric panel 113 may be disposed between powerconverter 103 and power grid 111, with loads 110 coupled to powerconverter 103 and power grid 111 via electric panel 113. Electric panel113 may include a single circuit breaker (not explicitly depicted)coupled to IIEVC 102. The single circuit breaker of electric panel 113may be configured to trip in response to a current above a certainthreshold (e.g., 40A) flowing into or out of IIEVC 102. In someembodiments, the single circuit breaker may be configured to trip inresponse to a first current (e.g., 40A) flowing into IIEVC 102, andconfigured to trip in response to a second current (e.g., 20A) flowingout of IIEVC 102 towards power grid 111. A dual-configuration circuitbreaker disposed in electric panel 113 may be configured to impose afirst current limit (e.g., 40A) provided for charging EV 107 and asecond current limit (e.g., 20A) limiting a current that IIEVC 102 mayprovide to power grid 111.

In some embodiments, power system 100 may be an off-grid system, i.e.,grid 111 might not be present (permanently or temporarily). IIEVC 102may convert, control, and regulate power drawn from power source 101 andprovide controlled power to electric vehicle (EV) 107 and/or loads 110.An off-grid system may be an on-board system, i.e. one or more of theelements shown in FIG. 1A may be mounted on or integrated in EV 107. EV107 may include storage device 109 (e.g., a battery). EV 107 may befully powered by storage device 109, or may include additional powersupplies. For example, EV 107 may be a Hybrid EV combining both anelectrical engine powered by storage device 109 and a combustion enginepowered by gasoline. In some embodiments, storage device 109 may becharged directly by DC charging circuit 104. DC charging circuit 104 mayinclude a power converter (e.g., a DC/DC converter in cases where powersource 101 is a DC power source or a DC/AC converter in cases wherepower source 101 is an AC power source). In some embodiments, DCcharging circuit 104 may provide power directly (e.g., without powerconversion) to storage device 109. In some embodiments, storage device109 may include an integrated power converter. In some embodiments, DCcharging circuit 104 may include a plug.

In some embodiments, storage device 109 may be charged by on-boardcharger 108, which may receive power from AC charging circuit 105. Insome embodiments, AC charging circuit 105 might not be necessary, andon-board charger 108 may be connected directly to the output of powerconverter 103 and/or power grid 111. AC charging circuit 105 may includea power converter for conditioning the power (e.g., AC power) output bypower converter 103 and/or provided by power grid 111 (e.g., AC power atgrid voltage and grid frequency). In some embodiments, AC chargingcircuit 105 may include one or more sensors, control devices,communication devices, and/or safety devices, and may be configured tocontrol and/or monitor the power provided to on-board charger 108. Insome embodiments, AC charging circuit 105 may be a short-circuitproviding a direct connection between on-board charger 108 and theoutput of power converter 103.

In some embodiments, power provided to EV 107 may be transferreddirectly to a propulsion device (such as an electric engine, a hybridengine or a power module (e.g., a power converter) coupled to an engine)of EV 107 instead of or in addition to being stored in a storage device.In such embodiments storage device 109 may be omitted from FIG. 1A orreplaced with a propulsion device. Transferring power directly to apropulsion device may be implemented in an on-board system.

In some embodiments, power system 100 may include a vehicle to grid(V2G) mode, and/or EV 107 may transfer power to loads in power system100 through IIEVC 102. A controller 114 may be a part of IIEVC 102 whichmay consider EV 107 as an additional energy storage device, and controlthe power to and/or from EV 107.

In some embodiments, the two terminals T1 and T2 of storage device 109shown in FIG. 1A may be merged into a single terminal.

In some embodiments, the input voltage to storage device 109 may be afloating voltage with respect to power grid 111 and/or isolated frompower grid 111. This may be achieved by designing DC charging circuit104 to include an input and an output isolated from each other and/or bydesigning power source 101 and/or storage device 106 to generate afloating voltage with respect to power grid 111. If power system 100 isan off-grid system, i.e. disconnected from the grid, DC charging circuit104 may include an input and an output which may be non-isolated fromeach other. In some embodiments, where DC charging circuit 104 mayinclude an input and an output which may be non-isolated from eachother, if power is transferred to/from EV 107 through DC chargingcircuit 104, power converter 103 may be disabled in order to allowisolation from power grid 111.

In some embodiments, where DC charging circuit 104 may include an inputand an output which may be isolated from each other, if power istransferred to/from EV 107 through DC charging circuit 104, powerconverter 103 may be allowed to convert power.

Still referring to FIG. 1A, one or more power sources may provide powerto power system 100. The power sources may provide DC power (e.g., powersource 101 and/or storage device 106) and/or AC power (e.g., power grid111). In some embodiments, power converter 103 may convert AC power toDC power and/or convert DC power to AC power. EV 107 may be able toreceive DC power through DC charging circuit 104 and/or AC power throughAC charging circuit 105. Each power source may provide power to EV 107through AC charging circuit 105 and/or DC charging circuit 104. The pathof provided power by the one or more power sources to EV 107 may becontrolled by a controller or a control device which may be a part ofIIEVC 102. For example, transferring power provided by power source 101to EV 107 through a path including DC charging circuit 104 and/or a pathincluding power converter 103 and AC charging circuit 105 may becontrolled by the controller. In some embodiments, some paths may bepreferable over other paths, either permanently or temporarily. Forexample, a first power source may provide power with a first fixed orvariable cost rate per kWh (kilo Watt hour), and a second power sourcemay provide power with a second fixed or variable cost rate per kWh. Thefirst cost rate may be higher than the second cost rate, eitherpermanently or temporarily. Preferring paths that include power providedby the second power source over paths that include power provided by thefirst power source may reduce the cost of power for power system 100. Inanother example, a first path may have higher power transfer efficiencycompared to a second path, and the first path may be preferable in orderto reduce power loss. As yet another example, a first path may deliverenergy at a first power rate, and a second path may deliver energy at asecond, lower power rate. In this case, using the first path may reducecharging time, and may be preferable.

In some embodiments, the capacity of power transferred through one ormore charging circuits (such as DC charging circuit 104 and/or ACcharging circuit 105) may be limited. An IIEVC (such as IIEVC 102) mayfirst utilize most of the capacity of a first charging circuit, beforetransferring power through a second charging circuit. For example, thecontroller may direct power provided by power source 101 to betransferred through DC charging circuit. If DC charging circuit is notcapable of transferring all the power provided by power source 101, thensome (or, in some embodiments, none) of the power provided by powersource 101 may be transferred through DC charging circuit 104, and theresidual power provided by power source 101 may be converted into ACpower by power converter 103 and transferred to EV 107 through ACcharging circuit 105, or stored in an energy storage device which may bea part of loads 110.

In some embodiments, the controller may limit the power provided by oneor more power sources (such as storage device 106). Limiting power maybe beneficial when the power source is a storage device, which mayprovide power for a longer period of time by providing less power at anygiven time, or when the power source is providing power at a high cost.For example, when the power from power grid 111 is at a low cost rateper kWh, the controller may charge EV 107 with power provided by powergrid 111, and may charge storage device 106 with power provided by powersource 101. When the power from power grid 111 is at a high cost rateper kWh, the controller may charge EV 107 with less (or zero) power frompower grid 111, and may charge EV 107 with power provided by storagedevice 106 and power source 101 (if available).

In some embodiments, where one of the power sources is a renewableenergy source (such as a PV generator), it may be preferable to use someof the energy provided by the renewable energy source, over energyprovided by other power sources. In some power systems, when the EV isdisconnected and where an energy storage device is available, it may bepreferable to store in an energy storage device some of the energyprovided by the renewable energy source. Later the energy stored in thestorage device may be used to charge the EV when the EV is coupled toone or more of the charging circuits.

In some embodiments, charging an EV via a DC charging circuit (such asDC charging circuit 104) may be preferable over charging an EV via an ACcharging circuit (such as AC charging circuit 105). In some embodiments,charging an EV through a DC charging circuit may allow more power to betransferred to the EV (compared to charging the EV through an ACcharging circuit).

In some embodiments the lines coupling IIEVC 102 to EV 107 may representwires embedded in a single cable capable of transferring both DC powerand AC power simultaneously (e.g., Combined Charging System (CCS),CHarge de MOve (CHAdeMO™).

In some embodiments, EV 107 may be coupled to IIEVC 102 or to a chargingdevice coupled to IIEVC 102 through a wireless connection such as aplugless connection.

In some embodiments, EV 107 may be a multiple of electric vehicles. Eachvehicle may include an energy storage device and an on-board charger.Each EV of EVs 107 may be coupled to IIEVC 102 through a cable. Thecable may be shared with one or more EVs of EVs 107, may be a differentcable for one or more EVs of EVs 107 and/or may be a single cable thatsplits to one or more EVs of EVs 107.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1B-1G, which each illustrate a flow ofpower from a power source to an EV according to illustrativeembodiments. IIEVC 102 may transfer power to EV 107 from various sources(e.g., power source 101, power grid 111 and/or storage device 106). Thepower from each source may be transferred to EV 107 via DC chargingcircuit 104 and/or AC charging circuit 105. Path 113 b and path 113 cillustrate possible power paths from power source 101 to storage device109. IIEVC 102 may transfer power from power source 101 to storagedevice 109 directly through DC charging circuit 104 (path 113 b), and/ortransfer power from power source 101 to storage device 109 through powerconverter 103, AC charging circuit 105 and on-board charger 108 (path113 c). IIEVC 102 may distribute the power provided by power source 101to one or more paths of paths 113 b and 113 c. In a similar manner,power provided by storage device 106 may be transferred to storagedevice 109 through two different paths, path 113 d including DC chargingcircuit 104, and path 113 e including power converter 103, AC chargingcircuit 105, and on-board charger 108. Power provided by power grid 111may also be transferred to storage device 109 through two differentpaths, path 113 f including electrical panel 113, power converter 103,DC charging circuit 104, and path 113 g, including electrical panel 113,AC charging circuit 105, and on-board charger 108. The selection of thepaths may be by use of multiple selector units (examples of which arediscussed with respect to FIGS. 19A-C, below) which may include multipleswitches and/or relays (not shown) which when selected by the selectorunits allow multiple connection paths 113 b-113 g to enable theselective supply of DC and/or AC power from power sources 101 and powergrid 111 to loads 110 as well as to and/or from storages 106/109.

According to various embodiments, a controller 114 may be configured todetermine and/or estimate a preferred distribution to paths of powerprovided by one or more power sources according to predetermined oradaptively-determined rules and/or limitations. Different paths may havedifferent properties, which may include efficiency of the path and/orthe cost of power provided by the source. For example, shorter pathsand/or paths that include fewer elements may have better efficiency. Insome power systems, where the tariff of power provided by power grid 111may change over time, the controller may avoid paths that include powerprovided by power grid 111 at times where the rate of power is high.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2A, which shows further details of IIEVC202 according to illustrative embodiments. IIEVC 202 may be similar toor the same as IIEVC 102 of FIG. 1A. Power converter 203, DC chargingcircuit 204 and AC charging circuit 205 may be similar to or the same aspower converter 103, DC charging circuit 104 and AC charging circuit105, respectively, of FIG. 1A. Enclosure 212 may be similar to or thesame as enclosure 112 of FIG. 1A, and may house a plurality ofcomponents providing inverter functionality and EV-chargingfunctionality to IIEVC 202.

IIEVC 202 may further include sensors/sensor interfaces 217, which maybe configured to measure and/or receive measurements from sensorssensing various parameters at locations within or proximate to IIEVC202. For example, sensors/sensor interfaces 217 may include voltagesensors configured to measure a voltage at the input 240 of powerconverter 203 and DC charging circuit 204. Sensors/sensor interfaces 217may additionally or alternatively include voltage sensors configured tomeasure a voltage at the output 250 of power converter 203, which mayalso be the input to AC charging circuit 205. Using a single voltagesensor to measure voltage input to power converter 203 and DC chargingcircuit 204, and using a single voltage sensor to obtain voltage outputby power converter 203 and voltage input to AC charging circuit 205, mayprovide cost savings by eliminating a need for separate voltage sensors.In some embodiments, sensors/sensor interfaces 217 may includetemperature sensors configured to measure temperatures at or aroundinput 240, output 250 and/or other components of IIEVC 202. In someembodiments, sensors/sensor interfaces 217 may include isolation-testingsensors configured to measure electrical isolation between variouscomponents of IIEVC and coupled electrical components. For example,sensors/sensor interfaces 217 may include an isolation-sensor configuredto measure an isolation between an input to power converter 103 and areference ground terminal, which may be the same as an isolation betweenan input to DC charging circuit 104 and the reference ground terminal.

In some embodiments, sensors/sensor interfaces 217 may include currentand/or power sensors configured to measure power flowing into (e.g., viainput 240) or out of (e.g., via output 250) IIEVC 202, or betweenvarious components disposed in IIEVC 202.

Measurements measured and/or obtained by sensors/sensor interfaces 217may be provided to control device 213. In some embodiments, Controldevice 213 may be the same as exemplary control device 114 depicted inFIGS. 1A-1G. Additionally, control device 213 may be configured tocontrol power converter 203, and/or DC charging circuit 204, and/or ACcharging circuit 205, and/or safety device(s) 216. Control device 213may be or include an analog circuit, microprocessor, Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) and/or aField Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). In some embodiments, controldevice 213 may be implemented as multiple controllers. For example,control device 213 may include a first controller for controllingoperation of power converter 203, and a second controller forcontrolling DC charging circuit 204 and/or AC charging circuit 205.Control device 213 may regulate (e.g., increase or decrease) powerprovided by a power source (e.g., power source 101), and regulate powerprovided to power converter 203 and/or EV 107 (e.g., via DC chargingcircuit 204 and/or AC charging circuit 205) and power provided to loadsand/or provided to or drawn from a coupled power grid (e.g., loads 110and power grid 111, respectively, of FIG. 1A).

Control device 213 may be configured to limit or increase power providedto EV 107, and/or power provided to or drawn from power grid 111according to power available from power source 101. Control device 213may be configured to calculate and/or provide (e.g., via communicationdevice 215) real-time data (such as data indicating current power statusinformation and/or historical power status statistics) to a user.Control device 213 may be communicatively coupled to a user interfaceand may receive commands from a user via the user interface to change anoperational state. For example, a user may send a command (e.g., viacommunication device 215 and common interface 219) to control device 213to reduce power provided to a power grid and increase power provided toan EV charging circuit.

In some embodiments, communication device 215 may be configured tocommunicate with a second communication device (not shown in the figure)which may be a part of EV 107. Information that may be transferredthrough this line of communication may pertain to one or more storagedevices of EV 107, such as capacity of the storage device(s), how muchenergy is currently stored in the storage device(s), and/or recommendedcurrent and/or power for charging the storage device(s).

Input 240 may be coupled to DC power sources such as power source 101and/or storage device 106 of FIG. 1A. Output 360 may be coupled to ACpower sources such as power grid 111 and or storage devices that may bepart of loads 110 of FIG. 1A. In some embodiments, IIEVC may receive ACpower and output DC power. In such embodiments input 240 may reverse itsrole and serve as an output for IIEVC 202, and output 250 may reverseits role and serve as an input for IIEVC 202.

Control device 213 may be configured to increase power provided to EV107 during certain times of the day. For example, control device 213 maybe configured to increase power provided to EV 107 when power availablefrom power source 101 is greater than a power input capacity of powerconverter 203. For example, power source 101 may be one or more PVsystems that may include an installed power production capacity that isgreater than a power processing capacity of power converter 203. Insystems such as these, control device 213 may route excess power to EV107 when power converter 203 is operating at full capacity.

Measurements measured and/or obtained by sensors/sensor interfaces 217may be provided to a communication device 215. Communication device 215may include a power-line communication (PLC) device, an acousticcommunication device and/or a wireless communication device (e.g., acellular modem, transceivers carrying out communications using Wi-Fi™,ZigBee™, Bluetooth™ and/or other wireless communication protocols).Communication device 215 may be in communication with one or more othercommunication devices, for example, e.g., various discrete and/orinterconnected devices such as disconnect(s), PV cell(s)/array(s),inverter(s), micro inverter(s), PV power modules(s), safety device(s),meter(s), breaker(s), relay(s), AC main(s), junction box(es), cameraetc.), network(s)/Intranet/Internet, computing devices, smart phonedevices, tablet devices, camera, one or more servers which may includedata bases and/or work stations.

Safety device(s) 216 may include one or more relay(s) configured toconnect and disconnect power converter 203, DC charging circuit 204and/or AC charging circuit 205 from input 240 and/or output 250. Safetydevice(s) 216 may include one or more Residual Current Detectors (RCD),Ground Fault Detector Interrupters (GFDI), fuse(s), breaker(s), safetyswitches(s) arc detector(s) and/or other types of safety circuitry thatmay protect one or more components of IIEVC 202, externally connectedcomponents and/or a human user. For example, safety device(s) 216 mayprotect both power converter 203 and DC charging circuit 204 from anovervoltage or overcurrent condition at input 240, thereby protecting aplurality of devices using a single safety device. As a second example,safety device(s) 216 may include a GFDI circuit disposed at output 250,protecting a user and/or installer of IIEVC 202 from a leakage currentcondition. As another example, safety device(s) 216 may include relaysconfigured to disconnect IIEVC 202 from a coupled power grid (e.g.,power grid 111 of FIG. 1A) in response to an islanding condition (e.g.,in case of a grid outage) and allow power converter 203 to continue toprovide power to AC charging circuit 205 without injecting power to agrid via output 250. The relays may be closed to enable power converter203 to provide power to a grid via output 250, and/or to enable ACcharging circuit 205 to receive power from a power grid via output 250.Where it may be desirable to enable AC charging circuit 205 to receivepower from a power grid via output 250 while not injecting power to thepower grid from power converter 203, power converter 203 may ceaseoperating or reduce power converting (e.g., by not drawing substantialpower via input 240).

Merger 218 may be coupled to DC charging circuit 204 and AC chargingcircuit 205, and may provide output 260. Merger 218 may selectivelyprovide DC power from DC charging circuit 204 and/or AC power from ACcharging circuit 205 to output 260. Output 260 may include one or morecables including one or more conductors, and may be configured (e.g., byuse of a suitable plug) to be plugged into EV 107 for charging EV 107.Merger 218 may be controlled by control device 213. For example, merger218 may include a plurality of switches controlled by control device 213to selectively couple merger 218 to DC charging circuit 204, AC chargingcircuit 205, both DC charging circuit 204 and AC charging circuit 205,or neither DC charging circuit 204 nor AC charging circuit 205. In someembodiments, merger 218 may be a mechanical joiner, for example, acombined charging system connector (CCS connector).

Common interface 219 may link one or more of power converter 203, safetydevice(s) 216, sensors/sensor interfaces 217, DC charging circuit 204,control device 213, AC charging circuit 205, communication device 215and merger 218. Data, information, communication and/or commands may beshared by the various components of IIEVC 202 over common interface 219.

Common interface 219 may include, for example data buses, wiredcommunication interfaces or other methods or reliable sharing andcommunication of data and commands between integrated electricalcircuitry.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2B, which illustrates one example ofsharing of electronic components between an inverter and an EV-chargingcircuit, according to illustrative embodiments. Isolation tester 230 maybe part and/or coupled to safety device(s) 216 of FIG. 2A and/orsensors/sensor interfaces 217 of FIG. 2A. Conductors 240 a and 240 b maytransmit DC power to power converter 203 and DC charging circuit 204 ofFIG. 2A. Isolation tester 230 may be coupled between one or more ofconductors 240 a and 240 b, and may be coupled to ground terminal 231 a,which may be the same as ground terminal 231 b coupled to powerconverter 203. Isolation tester 230 may measure isolation betweenconductor 240 a and ground terminal 231 a, and/or may measure isolationbetween conductor 240 b and ground terminal 231 a. The isolationmeasurement may include, for example, injecting a current betweenconductor 240 a (and/or conductor 240 b) and ground terminal 231 a andmeasuring a voltage caused by the injected current. The isolationmeasurement may include, for example, injecting an impedance betweenconductor 240 a (and/or conductor 240 b) and ground terminal 231 a andmeasuring a voltage caused by the injected impedance. The result of theisolation measurement may provide an indication of whether the inputs toDC charging circuit 204 and power converter 203 (shown in FIG. 2A) aresufficiently isolated from ground. Additional examples ofcircuitry-sharing may include disposing a GFDI circuit betweenconductors 240 a and 240 b or between conductors 250 a and 250 b, orand/or disposing an isolation tester between conductors 250 a and 250 b.

By integrating an inverter (e.g., power converter 203) and EV-chargingcircuitry as a single device, additional advantages may include improvemetering measurement. For example, a single revenue grade meter (RGM)may be used to measure power produced by power source 101, powerprovided to the power grid (e.g., power grid 111 of FIG. 1A) and/orpower provided for charging an EV (e.g., EV 107). For example, a singleRGM may measure power output by power converter 203 and power input toAC charging circuit 205, and calculate (e.g., by subtracting the powerinput to AC charging circuit 205 from the power output by powerconverter 203) the power provided to a power grid. As another example, asingle RGM may measure power output by power converter 203 and powerprovided to power grid 111, and calculate (e.g., by subtracting thepower provided to power grid 111 from the power output by powerconverter 203) the power provided for charging an EV.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 3A and 3A, which illustrates elements ofan IIEVC according to illustrative embodiments. An IIEVC, which may besimilar to or the same as IIEVC 102 of FIG. 1A and/or IIEVC 202 of FIG.2A, may include enclosures 312 a of FIGS. 3a and 312b of FIG. 3b , witheach of enclosures 312 a and 312 b housing one or more device(s) and/orcircuitry housed by IIEVC 202 of FIG. 2A. Enclosure 312 b may housepower converter 303, control device 313 and safety device(s) 316 b.Power converter 303 may be similar to or the same as power converter 203of FIG. 2A and power converter 103 of FIG. 1A. Safety device(s) 316 bmay be similar to or the same as safety device(s) 216 of FIG. 2A.Control device 313 may be similar to or the same as control device 213of FIG. 2A. Enclosures 312 a and 312 b may further house sensors/sensorinterfaces, communication devices and a common interface (not explicitlydepicted) similar to or the same as sensors/sensor interfaces 217,communication device 215 and common interface 219, respectively, of FIG.2A.

In some embodiments, enclosure 312 a may further include display 321 andcontrol panel 322. Control panel 322 may include, for example,mechanical buttons and/or touch-screen buttons. Control panel 322 may becommunicatively connected to control device 313, enabling a user toaffect the operation of devices and/or circuitry housed in enclosure 312a and/or enclosure 312 b. Display 321 may display operationalinformation regarding the devices and/or circuitry in enclosure 312 aand/or enclosure 312 b. In some embodiments, control panel 322 may becombined with display 321 (e.g., by having display 321 featuretouch-screen button controls). In some embodiments, display 321 and/or322 might not be featured, with monitoring and control functionalityprovided, for example, by an external monitor and/or computer, or amobile app communicatively coupled to a communication device housed inenclosure 312 a or 312 b. Power converter 303 may provide Maximum PowerPoint Tracking (MPPT) functionality to draw increased power from coupledrenewable power sources (e.g., PV generators). In some embodiments,power converter 303 may be communicatively and/or electrically coupledto additional power modules (e.g., DC/DC converters) configured toprovide MPPT functionality at a more granular (e.g., per PV-generator)level.

EV charger 302 a may include enclosure 312 a and associated (e.g.,housed) circuitry, and inverter 302 b may include enclosure 312 b andassociated (e.g., housed) circuitry. Enclosures 312 a and 312 b may bemechanically connectable, and the electrical devices and circuitryhoused by enclosures 312 a and 312 b may be electrically connectable(e.g., by providing suitable connectors and/or receptacles). In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 3, enclosure 312 a may house safetydevice(s) 316 a, DC charging circuit 304, and AC charging circuit 305.DC charging circuit 304 may be similar to or the same as DC chargingcircuit 104 of FIG. 1A. AC charging circuit 305 may be similar to or thesame as AC charging circuit 105 of FIG. 1A. Safety device(s) 316 a maybe similar to or the same as safety device(s) 216 of FIG. 2A. Safetydevice(s) 316 a may be controlled via an ON/OFF switch 325, which may beconfigured to disconnect power from power converter 303 when switched tothe OFF position. Conductors 319 may be designed to carry DC power, andconductors 320 may be designed to carry AC power. Conductors 319 mayreceive power from a DC power source and provide power to DC chargingcircuit 304 and/or to power converter 303. Conductors 320 may receivepower from power converter 303 and/or a power grid (e.g., power grid 111of FIG. 1A), and provide power to AC charging circuit 305 and/or to apower grid (e.g., power grid 111 of FIG. 1A).

Providing two separate enclosures may, in some scenarios, reduce costsassociated with installing an integrated renewable power—ElectricVehicle system. For example, power converter 303 may be a DC to ACinverter, and a consumer may install inverter 302 b (i.e. enclosure 312b and associated devices and circuitry) as a standalone PV inverterdevice. Control device 313 may be configured (e.g., programmed inhardware, firmware and/or software) to control both power converter 303,which may be part of inverter 302 b, and EV-charging circuits, which maynot be part of inverter 302 b. When deployed in a system not having EVcharging circuits, the EV charging functionality programmed into controldevice 313 may not be utilized. If the consumer later purchases anelectrical vehicle, the consumer may then install EV charger 302 a (i.e.enclosure 312 a and associated circuitry) as a retrofit device to beconnected to inverter 302 b. Circuitry and/or devices already includedin inverter 302 b may be utilized to provide control, communicationand/or safety functionality to circuitry and/or devices associated withEV charger 302 a, which may reduce the cost of EV charger 302 a. Forexample, inverter 302 b might not require a control device orcommunication device, which may reduce the cost of EV charger 302 acompared to traditional EV chargers.

In some embodiments, inverter 302 b and EV charger 302 a may bepre-connected (e.g., by connecting enclosures 312 a and 312 b andcoupling associated circuitry housed in enclosures 312 a and 312 b,during manufacturing) and sold as a single unit. In some embodiments,enclosure 312 b may house DC charging circuit 304, AC charging circuit305 and/or safety device(s) 316 a, and enclosure 312 a may not be used.The resulting apparatus may be a fully-functional IIEVC (e.g., similarto or the same as IIEVC 102 of FIG. 1A and IIEVC 202 of FIG. 2A), whichmay be provided for installing an integrated renewable power—ElectricVehicle system at one time.

Power converter 303 may be designed to converter power from a variety ofpower sources. In some embodiments, the power converter 303 may beconfigured to convert DC photovoltaic voltage and/or power received fromPV generators (e.g., one or more PV cells, PV cell substrings, PV cellstrings, PV panels, strings of PV panels, PV shingles and/or PV rooftiles). In some embodiments, power converter 303 may convert powerreceived from one or more fuel cells, batteries, wind turbines,flywheels or other power sources. In some embodiments, power converter303 may receive an AC voltage and/or power input, and may include arectifier circuit to convert the AC voltage to a DC voltage, with aninverter circuit configured to convert the DC voltage to an AC outputvoltage.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4A, which shows a graphical user interface(GUI) 400, according to one or more illustrative embodiments. In thedescription that follows, a touch screen is referenced by way ofexample, but other screens such as computer monitors, laptop screens orsmart phone screens may be used where items may be selected for exampleby mouse and/or pointer. The touch screen may be operatively mounted toan external surface of the housing of IIEVC 102. The touch screen may bemounted similarly to or the same as screen 321 as shown for example inFIG. 3 so as to be visible to and/or operable by a user. The touchscreen may be coupled to one or more processor units configured tocontrol the GUI and/or carry out computational and decision-makingfunctionalities as described below. In the preceding drawings, IIEVC 102is shown connected to a power system and EV 107 that may include one ormore electric vehicles.

IIEVC 102 may be located for example in a garage used to house EV 107 ofthe user. IIEVC 102 as described above may provide a combined,integrated control and a delivery of power harvested from a power systemto a number of loads and/or to EV 107. GUI 400, as well as displayinginformation to the user, may also allow the user to configure thedelivery of power harvested from a power system to a number of loadsand/or to EV 107. The access to the user may additionally be providedvia a Bluetooth™ or other wireless connections between a smart phone andIIEVC 102, via an internet connection between a remote network and IIEVC102 or a network local to IIEVC 102. The power system may include, forexample, sources of direct current (DC) such as photovoltaic panels, DCfrom a localized generator each one of which may be connected to anassociated power module (e.g., a DC/DC converter). The DC sources and/orassociated power modules may be connected in various series-parallel,parallel series combinations. The various series-parallel, parallelseries combinations may be attached to IIEVC 102 for example.

GUI 400 may provide two areas of display and control. A first area ofdisplay and control may be for the power system which may be connectedto a number of loads, an AC utility grid and/or localized grid which maybe AC, DC or a combination of AC and DC. The second area of display andcontrol may be with respect to EV 107.

The first area of display and control may include areas 410, 411, 412,413, and 414, which may be included on one graphical screen or bedisplayed on different graphical screens (e.g., depending on the screensize available). Similarly, the second area of display and control mayinclude areas 421, 422, and 424, which may be included on one graphicalscreen or be displayed on different graphical screens.

In GUI 400, text area 410 may give a user information as to the locationof the power system, the local time and date, an indication as to theweather conditions at the location, temperature at the location and thewind speed at the location of the power system. Text area 410 may alsoserve overall as an icon that when touched or swiped by the user using atouch screen device such as a smart phone, allows a sub menu to appear.For example, the sub menu may allow the user to view another DC powersystem located elsewhere to be monitored by the user. Alternatively oradditionally, the sub menu may allow the user to connect and utilize asecond DC power system that may be connected to and/or local to IIEVC102. Alternatively or additionally, the sub menu may allow the user toconnect to a third DC power system that may be the storage of EV 107 toprovide the role of an emergency supply of DC power to the power system.

GUI 400 may include a stage of charge (SOC) area 411 and area 421 thatshows the SOC percentage (%) of one or more storage devices (which maybe similar to storage device 106 of FIG. 1 and/or a storage device thatmay be a part of loads 110) and one or more storage devices of EV 107(which may include one or more electric vehicles), respectively. The SOCpercentage (%) of the two storage devices and EV 107 is shown byrespective cross hatchings. Each of the SOC percentage (%) of the twostorage devices and EV 107 displayed may also serve overall as separateicons, that, when touched or swiped by the user, show further detailabout a particular storage device. Using the example of a battery for astorage device, the further details may include information of batterytype, rating in terms of voltage, current and ampere hours (Ah),location of the battery, the number of times the battery has beencharged/discharged, the projected battery life of a battery based on itsusage. The further details may also provide a remote means for aconfiguration and a control of the two storage devices and EV 107 viapower modules coupled to IIEVC 102. The configuration may include, forexample, the option to disconnect and/or not use a particular battery,the option to designate a battery to have greater priority over theother batteries to be charged first, to schedule a battery forreplacement based on its current usage, the option to change parametersof a charge profile for a battery and/or to allow an upload and/orupdate of a charge profile for a battery.

Area 421, additionally, may show the user an estimated travellingdistance (50 Km) based on the state of charge of the storage of EV 107.A wireless connection between the computer of an EV 107 and IIEVC 102may allow display of which user (“Dad”, for example) and which EV 107 islocated in the vicinity of IIEVC 102 and/or may be connected to IIEVC102. Related area 423 may indicate a status to the user if a power cableconnected to IIEVC 102 and if a plug connected to the other end of thepower cable is plugged into EV 107. The status shown by area 423 mayadditionally include an indication to the user if the charging of thestorage of EV 107 is from power supplied from a utility grid (AC) orpower from IIEVC 102 which may be DC power, AC power or both AC and DCpower. Area 422 may provide an icon that may allow the user to chargethe storage of EV 107 as soon as possible by being a certain color(green for example). The icon in area 422 may be a different color (redfor example) or have some other superimposed graphic on it that mayprevent the user from charging the storage of EV 107 right away. An iconin area 422 may allow stopping of the charging of the storage of EV 107or to utilize time periods corresponding to the cheapest power availableto the charge the storage of EV 107 via a “Smart charge” option. An iconin area 422 may allow a user to define a minimum PV production thresholdfor charging an EV. For example, a user may specify that an EV willbegin charging only when PV production (e.g., power produced by powersource 101) exceeds, for example, 5 kW.

The passing of data to IIEVC 102 of which user (Dad for example) andwhich EV 107 is near IIEVC 102 may establish activation and indicationof a usage profile for IIEVC 102. The passing of data may include themonitored state of charge (SOC) by the computer of EV 107 and actualdistance and route travelled by the user. Based on the time and date asdisplayed in area 410, it may be established that this may be a workingday for the user. Additionally, a connection to a calendar of the useron their smart phone or some other remote internet connected calendarsynchronized with the calendar of the user on their smart phone mayestablish that the user is on holiday this day or has a meeting inanother location on this day. As such, a charge profile may beestablished for EV 107 which may consider a range of parameters, variouspriorities and present status of the power system as discussed below.

The charge profile may include a “start charge” and “charge before acertain time” criteria for the storage of EV 107. The charge profile mayalso consider how power is currently being utilized by the power systemas shown in areas 411, 414, 412 and 413. Consideration of powerutilization may consider the possibility of supplying more power to thestorage of EV 107. Fixed, changeable and updateable priorities assignedto each load which may also include the storage of EV 107 may be basedon, for example, an updatable load demand history of the power systemwith reference to daily or nightly demand, weekday demand, and monthlydemand. The load demand history may be compared with a present loaddemand such that more loads may be supplied by power and/or more powermay be utilized in charging storage devices. The storage devices mayalso include the storage of EV 107. Alternatively, if the current loaddemand is higher, power to loads may be supplemented by the discharge ofsome of the storage devices. The load demand history may further takeinto consideration current weather conditions, temperature or the amountof daylight time remaining.

The charge profile may also include financial consideration. Forexample, it may be preferable to allow supply of AC power from powergenerated by the power system to be sold to the grid and to defer chargeof the storage of EV 107 until a point in time when supply of power tocharge the storage of EV 107 may be free or cheaper.

In all of the discussions above the charge profile may include theoption to configure the charge profile by the user by use of GUI 400.

In some embodiments, the load demand history may be viewable via GUI400. In some embodiments, a control device controlling IIEVC 102 (e.g.,control device 213 of FIG. 2A or control device 313 of FIG. 3) may beprogrammed to automatically control operational characteristics of IIEVC102, for example, power flowing to or from a power grid (e.g., powergrid 111), power flowing to or from EV 107, power flowing to or fromstorage device 106, power flowing to or from storage device 109 and/orpower flowing to or from power converter 103. The control devicecontrolling IIEVC 102 may provide current operational characteristics(e.g., via communication device 215 of FIG. 2A) to be displayed by GUI400.

In the discussion that follows, reference to loads is made which alsomay include the consideration that storage device 109 of EV 107 whenbeing charged may function as a load. Reference to “load” and “loads” inthe following also may also include storage device 109 of EV 107. GUI400 may include a load utilization area 412 that shows two loads and mayindicate to a user the amount of power, voltage, and current, that aload is presently consuming. Each of the two loads displayed may also bedisplayed as separate icons that when touched or swiped by the user, mayshow further detail about a particular load. The detail about a load mayinclude, for example, a load profile for a particular load. The loadprofile may also include updated information regarding an updatable loaddemand history of the power system with reference to daily and nightlydemand, weekday demand, and monthly demand. The load profile may beupdated and/or be configurable via load utilization area 412 and/orareas 421, 423 and 422, in order to control power delivery to loads.Options may be provided to possibly disconnect a load or to change thevoltage and/or currents supplied to the load by providing access andcontrol of the power modules that may be attached to respective loads.

GUI 400 may further include DC generation area 413, which may show twopower outputs from power sources (similar to power source 101 of FIG.1A) connected to power modules. If the outputs of power modules areconnected in series to form a string, the voltage of the string(Vstring) may be displayed also in DC generation area 413. Each of thetwo power values displayed may also be displayed as separate icons that,when touched or swiped by the user, show further details about aparticular power source such as power source 101 of FIG. 1, andrespective power modules. The further details may, for example, includethe voltages and currents sensed by a sensor unit that may be measuringvoltages and/or currents on inputs and outputs of power modules, forexample. Based on the further details, a user may be given the option toremotely switch off and/or bypass a particular power module output.Related to DC generation area 413 is power utilization area 414, whichindicates the total power (Pgen) currently being generated and theamount of power currently being shed (Pshed) by one or more powersources coupled to IIEVC 102. Power may be shed since loads (e.g., loads110 of FIG. 1A) and storage devices (e.g., storage devices 106 and 109of FIG. 1A) might not need all of the power currently being produced.

GUI 400 may further include a graphical display area 424 to displayuseful graphs or a map to the user. Graphical display area 424 may alsoserve as an icon which, when touched or swiped by the user, allows theuser to select from different sub menus, each providing differentgraphical displays of different parameters of a power system, such asvoltage, current or power or the topographical layout of power sourcesin the power system. The menu icon may also provide additional featuresrequired by the user.

Area 424 shows by way of example a map that includes locations 444 a,444 b and 444 c which may be useful to the user of EV 107. The locationsmay be indicative of a planned route and driving destination for aparticular day. Locations 444 a, 444 b and 444 c may be marked withdifferent shaped icons that may indicate parking without chargingfacilities or parking with charging facilities. Swiping on the locationsmay enable the option to book a parking place that includes chargingfacilities. The booking of a parking place may cause a link to a map tobe sent to the mobile phone of the user, and/or the map may provide GPSdata to assist the user to get to the parking place. Booking of aparking place having charging facilities may further include datatransfer to the car park which indicates the storage device type,estimated time of arrival and departure, state of charge of the storagedevice 109 of EV 107 in order to provide the best charge profile for thestorage of EV 107.

GUI 400 may further include a safety and alert area 426, which includesindications to a user of a current or leakage voltage. A swipe of area426 may indicate further the location of the current or leakage voltage.Area 426 may indicate failure to trip of a residual current device (RCD)possible in view of the level of the current or leakage voltagemonitored. An ongoing continuous test of insulation resistance of thepower system cabling and components may also be indicated by a PASS or aFAIL indication to the user. A visible and audible warning to the usermay be given by safety and alert area 426. The alerts mentioned aboveand further alerts may further be conveyed using an e-mail or textmessage to the user and/or to a company that may provide monitoring andmaintenance to the power system.

The remote configurations described for GUI 400 which include the supplyand control of powers to the storage devices and/or power from storagedevices to loads may be predefined or provided dynamically via GUI 400.The supply and control of powers to loads and storage devices and/orpower from storage devices to loads may be provided dynamically and/orstatically predefined, according to the priorities described in furtherdetail with respect to the descriptions above.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4B, which illustrates an additionalfeature that may be included in GUI 400. Area 430 may indicate currentsession data and/or current state data. The data may be presentedgraphically, numerically or in other visually indicative manners. Area430 may indicate the duration of the current charging session of EV 107,and the amount of energy stored on storage device 109 during the currentsession. Area 430 may further indicate sources of the energy stored andindicate what proportion of the energy came from which source. Forexample, area 430 may indicate a percentage of the storage charge whichwas drawn from a power grid, a percentage of the storage charge whichwas drawn a renewable power source (e.g., a PV generator or PV system),and a percentage of the storage charge which was drawn from one or morestorage devices. In some embodiments, a percentage may be negative, e.g.indicating that the EV may have provided energy to a power grid orstorage device.

Area 430 may further indicate real-time charging information. Forexample, area 430 may indicate the current charging rate of an EVstorage device, and may indicate a percentage of the current chargingrate that is provided from a variety of power sources. Area 430 mayprovide button 431, which may be pressed or swiped to view an additionalwindow or menu allowing a user to increase or decrease a proportion ofpower drawn from one or more power source, or increase or decrease acharging rate.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5, which illustrates a sytem diagram 500of power flow in a power system according to illustrative embodiments.System diagram 500 illustrates a flow of power from power sources 501 a. . . 501 n and 502 a . . . 502 n to EV 506. EV 506 may be similar to EV107 of FIG. 1A. Power sources 501 a . . . 501 n and 502 a . . . 502 nmay be similar to one or more of power source 101, power grid 111 andstorage device 106, of FIG. 1A. System diagram 500 may include blocksthat represent different electrical components in the power system, suchas power sources 501 a . . . 501 n and 502 a . . . 502 n, powerconverter 503, controller 510, DC charging circuit 504 and AC chargingcircuit 505. Power converter 503, controller 510, DC charging circuit504 and AC charging circuit 505 may be included in IIEVC 509. Supply ofpower to EV 506 may be from either DC charging circuit 504 or ACcharging circuit 505. Multiple paths of power flow between power sources501 a . . . 501 n and 502 a . . . 502 n and the componets of IIEVC 509are indicated by solid line with arrow head which indicates a directionof a potential path of power flow. In general controller 510 or anothercontroller may run an algoritm which determines which paths andcombinations of paths are utilized to provide power to EV 506. Theselection of the paths may be by use of multiple selector units (notshown) which may include multiple switches and/or relays (not shown)which when selected by the selector units allow multiple connectionpaths (paths A1-A7 for example) to enable the supply of power from powersources to storages and/or loads.

By way of non-limiting example a potential supply of power between powersource 501 n and the input of DC charging circuit 504 is indicated bypath A3. Power source 501 n may also supply power to a DC input of powerconverter 503 which is indicated by path A2. Power source 502 a may alsosupply power to an input AC charging circuit 505 which is indicated bypath A1. Within power converter 503 a cross-over connection indicated bypaths A4 and A5 such that respectively, a DC input of power converter503 may be converted to an AC output on path A6 and an AC input of powerconverter 503 may be converted to an DC output on path A7. Further, thecross-over connection may be configurable such that a DC input of powerconverter 503 may be converted to another level of DC output on path A7and/or an AC input of power converter 503 may be converted to another ACoutput on path A6 in terms of different voltage and, current levels,phase angle, frequency and/or to provide power factor correction (PFC)for example. AC to AC conversion may be achieved using a transformerwhich may also provide galvanic isolation between the input of powerconverter 503 and the output of power converter 503. In general a pathof power flow may start at a power source which may end at EV 107, andmay include elements (e.g., paths and blocks) connected consecutivelyand/or in parallel. In a more general illustration, paths of power flowmay end at any load (such as loads 110 and/or storage device 106 of FIG.1A). In general controller 510 or another controller may run an algoritmwhich determines which paths and combinations of paths are utilized toprovide power to EV 506. Which paths, combinations of paths utilized toprovide power to EV 506 may be responsive to costs aassocaited with thecost of supply in each path, required power levels in terms of voltagesand curents potentially available in each path and/or current chargelevels of storage devices such as storage devices 106/109 and othercharge storage devices described below.

The blocks shown in FIG. 5 may be part of a bigger power system similarto power system 100 of FIG. 1. Each source of sources 501 a . . . 501 nand 502 a . . . 502 n may provide power to various loads in the powersystem (not shown in FIG. 5). Each element in a path of power flow mayhave a capacity of power that may flow through it. In some embodiments,one or more paths may have a cost associated with each path of the oneor more paths. The capacity of an element may be determined according tothe physical properties of the physical element it symbolizes, such asthe maximum rated electrical parameter (e.g., current, voltage, powerand/or energy) of an electrical component (e.g., a wire, a switchcircuit, a connector, a storage device, a circuit breaker, and/or apower converter). For example, a circuit breaker, which may be coupledto source 502 a and may be rated for a maximum current (e.g., 40A), maylimit the capacity of charging paths outgoing from source 502 a to alimit according to EV regulations that may require for example a 20%margin (e.g., 32A).

The cost of using a path may be determined according to variousparameters or estimation of parameters, such as grid tariff, wear ratecosts and/or efficiency of the physical path. In some embodiments, a DConly path or an AC only path may be favorable. A path of power from theplurality of sources to EV 107 may be determined using different methodsthat attempt to increase the amount of power flowing to EV 506. Powerprovided by the sources, the capacities and the costs may be timevarying, and may change according to different electrical measurementssuch as voltage, current, power and/or temperature. For example the costof path A1, the path coupling source 502 a and AC charging circuit 505may increase when the cost rate of power provided by source 502 aincreases. In another example, power source 501 n may be similar tostorage device 106 of FIG. 6, the cost of paths A2 and A3, the pathsoutgoing from power source 501 n, may be increased and/or the capacityof paths outgoing from power source 501 n may be decreased when thecontroller predicts a need to save power in power source 501 n.

The total cost of charging EV 506 may be the sum of costs of paths usedfor charging EV 506. A controller may attempt to increase theutilization of the capacities of the paths and/or decrease the totalcost of the flow of power by redirecting and distributing power betweenthe different available paths and by controlling the amount of powerdrawn from power sources 501 a . . . 501 n and 502 a . . . 502 n. Thecontroller may consider user preferences (such as the time to fullycharge EV 506) and other storage device constraints (such as minimumcharge in a storage device) when adjusting the utilization and/or cost.

In some embodiments, properties of an electrical device may affect thewear of the electrical device. For example, a storage device may havepreferred charging and discharging rates in order to prolong its life.Some storage devices may have an expected limited amount of chargecycles. For some of these storage devices it may be preferable todischarge all or most of the energy stored in the storage devices beforerecharging. Other storage devices may have a preferable rate of chargingand discharging power in order to prolong their life. Deviating fromthis rate may reduce health and increase wear on the storage device. Insome embodiments the wear and/or health of the storage device may beestimated by measuring one or more electrical parameter such as voltage,current and/or power. In some embodiments the storage device may includea communication device or a data storage device including informationabout the wear, health and/or charge of the storage device, and/or thepreferable charge and discharge rates.

In some embodiments a user may manually change the preferences of thecontroller. For example, if the user expects that at a defined timehe/she may need to disconnect EV 506 for a trip (e.g., driving to work),the user may change the preferences of the controller such that at thedefined time a storage device that may be a part of EV 506 may be aboutfull or may have enough energy for the expected trip. This preferencemay be favorable over all other preferences such as saving costs andwear.

Still referring to FIG. 5, power sources 501 a . . . 501 n may becoupled to the DC input of power converter 503 and/or to DC chargingcircuit 504. Power sources 502 a . . . 502 n may be coupled to the ACinput of power converter 503, and/or to AC charging circuit 505. The DCinput of power converter 503 may be coupled to the AC output of powerconverter 503. The AC input of power converter 503 may be coupled to theDC output of power converter 503. The DC output of power converter 503may be coupled to DC charging circuit 504. The AC output of powerconverter 503 may be coupled to AC charging circuit 505. Controller 510may control the power through each element of IIEVC 509. Controller 510may be similar to control device 213 of FIG. 2.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6A which illustrates a method 600 forcontrolling charging of an EV in an electrical system according toillustrative embodiments. The electrical system may be similar to powersystem 100 of FIG. 1A. Method 600 may be implemented by a controller. Insome embodiments, method 600 may be carried out by multiple controllersthat may communicate with at least one other controller of the othercontrollers. The controller and/or controllers may be a part of controldevice 213 of FIG. 2a . The controller may wait until EV 107 is coupledto power system 100 before starting method 600. When EV 107 isdisconnected the controller may control power converter 103 of FIG. 1Aaccording to various parameters of the system, such as the amount ofpower generated by the power sources, the amount of energy desired to bestored in storage device 106, the cost of power from each power sourceand/or the power demand of loads 110.

At step 601 the controller initializes a power source counter to one andadvances to step 602. At step 602 the controller determines if the firstpower source is able to provide power. If the first power source cannotprovide power, the controller increments the counter by 1 at step 603,and returns to step 602 to check if the second power source is able toprovide power. This process may repeat until there is a power sourcethat is able to provide power. If there are no more power sources, thenincrementing the power source counter by 1 may set it back to one.

Assuming the counter reached the ith power source, and the ith powersource is able to provide power, the controller advances to step 604. Atstep 604, the controller may check what path is preferable for the ithpower source. For example, the controller may determine whether a paththrough the AC charging circuit 105 or a path through the DC chargingcircuit 105 is preferred. To determine the preferred path, thecontroller may access a look-up table that may be programmed manually bya user or an installer, or computed automatically according to the stateof the power system. For example, if the system has only one powerconverter, and the power converter is already in use by a differentdevice, then the controller may avoid considering a path that includesthe power converter. In another example, the controller may avoid a pathincluding the AC charging circuit because the path through the ACcharging circuit is close to the maximum current and/or power it may becapable to transfer. In a third example, it may avoid a path through oneof the charging circuits because the EV is not coupled to the chargingcircuit, or it is coupled but the connection and/or charging circuit maybe unsafe for charging.

If, at step 604, the controller chooses the path through the AC chargingcircuit 105, then the controller proceeds to step 605. At step 605, thecontroller may redirect some of the power provided by the ith powersource to the EV through the AC charging circuit 105. If, at step 604,the controller chooses the path through the DC charging circuit 104,then the controller proceeds to step 606. At step 606 the controller mayredirect some of the power provided by the 4th power source to the EVthrough the DC charging circuit 104. The controller may redirect somebut not all of the power provided by the ith power source correspondingto the state of the power system. For example, if the selected path doesnot have enough capacity for all the power provided by the ith powersource, the controller may redirect a portion of the power which maycorrespond to the difference between the current efficiency and themaximum efficiency.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6B, which illustrates a method 610 forcontrolling charging of an EV in an electrical system according toillustrative embodiments. Method 610 may be an example of animplementation of step 604 of FIG. 6A. At step 611, the controller maydetermine if the ith power source is an AC power source. If the ithpower source is an AC power source, the controller may proceed to step612. At step 612, the controller may determine if the power converter isavailable for converting power from AC to DC. If the power converter isavailable, the controller may advance to step 614. If at step 611 thepower source is not AC source, then the controller may proceed to step613 to determine if the power converter is available for convertingpower from DC to AC. If the power converter is available, then thecontroller may advance to step 614.

At step 614, the controller may determine which path is preferable. Ifthe path through AC charging circuit 105 is preferable, then thecontroller advances to step 615. In some embodiments, a DC only path oran AC only path may be favorable. At step 615, the controller maydetermine if the utilization of the path through AC charging circuit 105is lower than the maximum utilization of the path through AC chargingcircuit 105. If the utilization of the path through AC charging circuit105 is lower than the maximum utilization, then the controller maycontinue to step 617. If the utilization is already at the maximumutilization or close to the maximum utilization, the controller may skipto step 602.

At step 617 the controller may determine if the connection is safe. Asafe and/or unsafe connection may be detected by a safety device similarto safety device(s) 216 of FIG. 2. If the connection is safe, thecontroller may continue to step 605. If the connection is unsafe, thecontroller may skip to step 602. At step 613, if the power converter isnot available, the controller may continue to step 616. At step 614, ifthe path through the DC charging circuit 104 has a lower cost, then thecontroller may advance to step 616. At step 616 the controller maydetermine if the utilization of the path through the DC charging circuit104 is lower than the maximum utilization of the path through DCcharging circuit 104. If the utilization of the path through the DCcharging circuit 104 is lower than the maximum utilization of the paththrough DC charging circuit 104, then the controller may continue tostep 618. If the utilization of the path through the DC charging circuit104 is already at the maximum utilization of the path through the DCcharging circuit 104 or close to the maximum utilization of the paththrough the DC charging circuit 104, the controller may skip to step602. At step 618 the controller may determine if the connection is safe.If the connection is safe, the controller may continue to step 606. Ifthe connection is unsafe, the controller may skip to step 602.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7 which illustrates a block diagram of apower system configuration according to according to illustrativeembodiments. Power system 700 may include power source 701 which may besimilar to power source 101 of FIG. 1A, IIEVC 702 which may be similarto IIEVC 102 of FIG. 1A, power converter 703 which may be similar topower converter 103 of FIG. 1A, circuit breaker 704 which may be a partof an electric panel similar to electric panel 113 of FIG. 1A, relays716, power grid 705 which may be similar to power grid 111 of FIG. 1A,controller 715 which may be similar to controller 114 of FIG. 1A, and EV706 which may be similar to EV 107 of FIG. 1A. Power system 700 mayinclude additional elements (e.g., a DC charging circuit similar to DCcharging circuit 104 and loads similar to loads 110). IIEVC 702 may beconfigured to receive current 710 from power grid 705 through circuitbreaker 704.

Circuit breaker 704 may be configured to trip based on the value ofcurrent 710. For example, circuit breaker 704 may be configured to tripin response to current 710 being above a threshold (e.g., 40A). Thethreshold may be determined by the ratings of circuit breaker 704 or byindustry standards and/or government regulations. IIEVC 702 may beconfigured to receive current 709 from power source 701 and convertcurrent 709 to current 707 through power converter 703. Current 708 maybe the sum of currents 710 and 707 and may be converted into current 712through AC charging circuit 711. IIEVC 702 may be configured to outputcurrent 712 to EV 706, and EV 706 may be configured to receive current712. In some embodiments, IIEVC 702 may include a communication devicesimilar to communication device 215. The communication device of IIEVC702 may be configured to communicate with a second communication devicethat may be a part of EV 706 (both communication devices are not shownin FIG. 7).

A sudden drop in current 707 (e.g., in case power source 701 is a PVgenerator, and PV power production suddenly drops due to, for example,shading and/or dirt) may cause an increase in current 710 (to continueproviding a sufficient charging current 712 to EV 706) such that current710 may exceed the threshold, tripping circuit breaker 704. To avoidexceeding the threshold, IIEVC 702 may signal EV 706 through thecommunication device to reduce current 712, and/or may temporarilydisconnect EV 706 from circuit breaker 704 (e.g., by opening relays 716and/or relays which may be a part of AC charging circuit 711, until EV706 has responded to the signal and/or until a predetermined timeinterval has passed. In some embodiments, IIEVC 702 may also beconfigured to receive current 714 from storage device 713, andresponsive to a sudden drop in current 709, IIEVC 702 may increasecurrent 714 to compensate for the decrease in current 709.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8, which illustrates a flowchartdescribing a method 800 for controlling the charging of an EV, accordingto illustrative embodiments. Method 800 describes a method that may becarried out by controller such as controller 715 of FIG. 7. Forsimplicity, description of method 800 will refer to a controller 715 asthe controller carrying out method 800.

At step 821, IIEVC 702 may receive current 710 provided by power grid705 and/or current 709 provided by power source 701, and may use thecurrent to charge EV 706. Controller 715 may periodically (e.g., everysecond, or every 100 milli seconds [ms], 10 [ms] or 1 [ms]) proceed tostep 822. At step 822, controller 715 may determine if current 709 wasreduced compared to a previous value of current 709. Measuring and/orestimating current 709 may be implemented by monitoring and/or sensingone or more electrical parameters (such as power, voltage, current,temperature and/or irradiance). If at step 822 controller 715 determinesthat current 709 was not reduced, then controller 715 may return to step821 and may wait a short period of time before returning to step 822. Ifat step 822 controller 715 determines that current 709 was reduced,controller 715 may advance to step 823. At step 823, controller 715 maydetermine if current 710 is above a threshold. In some embodiments, thevalue of the threshold may depend on the current ratings of circuitbreaker 704 and/or may be derived from industry standards and/orgovernment regulations. If at step 823 controller 715 determines thatcurrent 710 is below the threshold, controller 715 may loop back to step821.

If at step 823 controller 715 determines that current 710 is above thethreshold, controller 715 may advance to step 825. At step 825,controller 715 may signal EV 706 to reduce current 712 (e.g., to avoidtripping circuit breaker 714). If the response time of EV 706 is shorterthan the trip time of circuit breaker 714, then further action might notbe necessary, and controller 715 may skip steps 826, 827 and 828 (notshown) and return to step 821. If the response time of EV 706 may belonger than the trip time of circuit breaker 714, then controller 715may advance to step 826. At step 826, controller 715 may open relays 716and/or may open relays that may be a part of AC charging circuit 711,disconnecting EV 706 from power grid 705, which may reduce the risk ofEV 706 tripping circuit breaker 704 by drawing a large current frompower grid 705. Controller 715 may then advance to step 827. At step827, controller 715 may wait until a predetermined time period haspassed (the period of time selected to provide EV 706 with time torespond), and/or wait until EV 706 responds to the signal sent at step825. Once the predetermined time period has passed, or once EV 706responds to the signal, controller 715 may then advance to step 828. Atstep 828, controller 715 may close relays 716 and/or relays which may bea part of AC charging circuit 711, reconnecting EV 706. Controller 715may then return to step 821.

In some embodiments, where method 800 is carried out with regard to apower system having a storage device (e.g., storage device 713), at step823, if controller 715 determines that current 710 is above thethreshold, controller 715 may proceed to step 829. At step 829,controller 715 may determine if storage device 713 is available (e.g.,is charged and is capable of providing a compensation current). Ifcontroller 715 determines that storage device 713 is unavailable, thencontroller 715 may advance to step 825. If at step 829 controller 715determines that storage device 715 is available, controller 715 mayproceed to step 830. At step 830 controller 715 may increase current 714to compensate for the reduction in current 709 and then return to step821. According to certain aspects of the current disclosure, responsiveto a detection reduction in current 709 (at step 823), controller 715may respond by simultaneously increasing current drawn from storage(step 829) and opening relays 716 (step 826). Controller 715 may furthersimultaneously signal EV 706 to reduce charging current 712 (step 815).

Reference is now made to FIG. 9, which shows a block diagram of a powersystem 900 according to illustrative embodiments. In some embodiments,power system 900 may include one or more of the same components as powersystem 100, such as power source 101, IIEVC 102, power converter 103, DCcharging circuit 104, AC charging circuit 105, storage device 106, EV107 including on-board charger 108 and storage device 109, loads 110,power grid 111 and electric panel 113. Power system 900 may furtherinclude a cable 1320. In some embodiments, IIEVC 102 may supply power toEV 107 through DC charging circuit 104 and/or AC charging circuit 105 tostorage device 109 directly or using on-board charger 108 as anintermediary between IIEVC 102 and storage device 109. Cable 1320 maytransfer the supplied power from IIEVC 102 to EV 107. Cable 1320 may beconfigured to transfer DC power as well as AC power. Cable 1320 may havea first end and a second end opposite the first end.

In some embodiments, the first end of cable 1320 may be mechanicallydesigned to be attached to and/or disconnected from DC charging circuit104 and/or AC charging circuit 105. In some embodiments, DC cable 1320may have a split end with a first connector coupled to the first enddesigned to plug into DC charging circuit 104 and a second connectorcoupled to the first end designed to plug into AC charging circuit 105.In some embodiments, the first end of cable 1320 may be designed to bepermanently connected to DC charging circuit 104 and/or AC chargingcircuit 105.

The second end of cable 1320 may be designed to plug into on-boardcharger 108 and/or storage device 109. In some embodiments, connectiondesign to on-board charger 108 and storage device 109 may be different.The second end of DC cable 1320 may have a split end with a firstconnector designed to connect to on-board charger 108 and a secondconnector designed to connect to storage device 109.

In some embodiments, a power system may have multiple cables 901. IIEVC102 may have multiple outputs configured to connect to the plurality ofcables 901. In some embodiments, EV 107 or other loads may have multipleinputs configured to connect to the plurality of cables 901. In someembodiments, cable 1320 may have a split input configured to connect tomultiple outputs of IIEVC 102 and/or a different power source. In someembodiments, cable 1320 may have a split output configured to connect tomultiple inputs of EV 107 and/or a different load. Cable 1320 may housemultiple conductors and/or the plurality of conductors may split at theinput and/or output of cable 1320. In some embodiments, cable 1320 maytransfer power from an input or a split input to one or more conductorshoused in cable 1320 and may output power to an output or a split outputfrom one or more conductors housed in cable 1320.

In some embodiments, cable 1320 may be a DC cable, a single-phase ACcable, or a three-phase AC cable. In some embodiments, cable 1320 may beconfigured to transfer power in a DC form, in an AC single-phase form,and/or in an AC three phase form. Cable 1320 may have multipleconnectors and each connector may be configured to transfer one or moreforms of power. For example, cable 1320 may have three connectors, onefor DC power, one for single-phase AC power, and one for three-phase ACpower. The DC connector may have multiple pins (e.g., two pins)configured for power transfer. The single-phase AC power connector mayhave multiple pins (e.g., two or three pins—two for the power phase andan optional third terminal for connection to ground) configured forpower transfer. The three-phase AC power connector may have multiplepins configured for power transfer. For example, a three-phase AC powerconnector may have three pins, one for each phase. In some embodiments,the three-phase AC power connector may have a fourth pin for connectionto neutral, and may have a fifth pin for connection to ground.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10, which shows a block diagram of a cable1320 according to illustrative embodiments. Cable 1320 may be configuredto transfer AC power and/or DC power from a power device to a loadand/or from a first load to a second load. A number of examples of powertransferring using cable 1320 may be: transferring DC power from aphotovoltaic generator to a storage device, transferring DC power froman IIEVC to an EV, transferring AC power from an inverter to a load,transferring AC power from a grid to an on-board charger, andtransferring AC power from an on-board charger to a grid.

In some embodiments, the type of power transferred by cable 1320 may besignificant or useful (e.g., for reporting to a system monitor or user).In order to know what type of power is transferred, cable 1320 mayinclude sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 which may be configured tosense the type of power being transferred and determine if the power isAC or DC. For example, sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 may include acapacitor and a resistor coupled in series, with a voltage sensorcoupled to the resistor. The capacitor may remove an offset in thevoltage and position the voltage signal around zero. The root meansquare (RMS) of the voltage signal on the resistor being different fromzero may be an indication that the power is in AC form. The RMS of thevoltage signal being about zero may be an indication that the power isin DC form.

In another example, sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 may include asecond conductor magnetically coupled to a section of cable 1320. Thesensing may be done by measuring the current or voltage on the secondconductor. An amplitude above a threshold in the current or voltage onthe second conductor may be an indication that the power is in AC form.An amplitude below a threshold in the current or voltage on the secondconductor may be an indication that the power is in DC form. Forexample, a voltage on the second conductor of more than 1 milli Volt[mV] may indicate that the power may be in an AC form, and a voltage onthe second conductor of less than 1 [mV] may indicate that the power isin a DC form.

In some embodiments, measuring the amount of power being transferred viacable 1320 may be desirable. Sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 may beconfigured to sense an electrical parameter indicative the amount ofpower that is being transferred through cable 1320 (e.g., by sensingpower directly, or by sensing voltage and/or current and combining themeasurement with other measurements to calculate and/or otherwise obtainthe power measurement). In some embodiments, knowing the amount of powertransferred through cable 1320 may be useful for monitoring purposes,for example, when a single cable is used to charge multiple loads, itmay be determined if cable 1320 charges a first load faster than asecond load.

Some electrical vehicles may be designed to charge using an on-boardcharger 108 (of FIG. 9) configured to receive AC power, some electricalvehicles may be designed to charge using a storage device 109 (of FIG.9) configured to receive DC power, and other electrical vehicles may bedesigned to charge using either or both an on-board charger 108configured to receive AC power and a storage device 109 configured toreceive DC power. In some embodiments, on-board charger 108 may beconnectable to a first type of plug and storage device 109 may beconnectable to a second type of plug. In some embodiments, on-boardcharger 108 and storage device 109 may be connectable to the same typeof plug. The type of plug may be determined based on the shape of theconnector, the number of pins and the layout of the pins on theconnector.

Electrical vehicles may be designed to receive power at a maximumcurrent, maximum power, and/or maximum voltage. In some embodiments,cable 1320 may include a communication device 1310 configured tocommunicate with various components of cable 1320 (e.g.,sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304, power converter 1306, and controller1308), a load coupled to cable 1320, with a power source coupled tocable 1320, and/or a third-party device configured to communicate withcable 1320. For example, cable 1320 may be housed in a garage, andcommunication device 1310 may be configured to communicate with acontroller in a garage door. The controller in the garage door may beconfigured to open and/or close the garage door and/or configured toturn the garage lights ON and/or OFF. The controller of the garage doormay communicate back to communication device 1310.

In some embodiments, communication device 1310 of cable 1320 maycommunicate with EV 107 or with an intermediary device (e.g., acommunication adaptor) configured to sense and/or communicate with bothEV 107 and communication device 1310. In such communications,communication device 1310 may receive one or more of the followingvalues: maximum power limit that EV 107 may receive, maximum voltagelimit that EV 107 may receive, maximum current limit that EV 107 mayreceive, power form that EV 107 is configured to receive, current formthat EV 107 is configured to receive, and/or voltage form that EV 107 isconfigured to receive. In some embodiments, cable 1320 may includesensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 configured to sense the current,power and/or voltage values transferred to EV 107. Controller 1308 maycompare between the values sensed by sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304and the values received from EV 107 and determine if the transfer ofpower is safe for EV 107, for example, controller 1308 may determinethat the transfer of power is safe if the power is less than the maximumpower that EV 107 may receive. In some embodiments, sensor(s)/sensorinterface(s) 1304 may sense the voltage on EV 107, controller 1308 mayreceive a signal from sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 including thevalue of the voltage on EV 107, and according to the voltage estimatethe state of charge of EV 107. If the state of charge is above the EV'sstated maximum, cable 1320 may limit the power transferred to EV 107 tobe under the EV's stated maximum.

In some embodiments, cable 1320 may have a power converter 1306.Controller 1308 may receive values of electrical parameters sensed bysensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 and/or values of electricalparameters received from a load by communication device 1310, and mayoperate/control power converter 1306 according to the values received.Power converter 1306 may convert input current and voltage to outputcurrent and voltage according to values received by controller 1308. EV107 may receive power from IIEVC 102, but may be limited by powerconverter 1306 to a maximum voltage and/or maximum current according tothe specific design of storage device 109 and/or on-board charger 108,which may have been communicated from EV 107.

Power converter 1306 may convert input current and voltage to outputcurrent and voltage suitable to the design and ratings of components inEV 107. For example, EV 107 may be configured to receive power at amaximum voltage of 20[V] and communication device 1310 may receive fromEV 107 or an intermediary device coupled to EV 107 an indication thatstorage device 109 is missing 100[Ampere hour] (e.g., charging storagedevice 109 with an additional 100 Ampere hour[Ah] may charge storagedevice 109 to full capacity). Sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 maysense that power from IIEVC is in DC form (e.g., a DC voltage or a DCcurrent may be sensed, which indicates that the power is in DC form). Asa result, converter 1306 may be configured to receive powerP=20[V]·100[A]=2000[W]. In some embodiments, cable 1320 may beconfigured to transfer 2000[W] at a higher voltage than a voltagesuitable for EV 107, for example: a voltage value of 500[V]. Providing 2[kW] of power at a voltage value of 500[V] will lower the current to4[A]. In some embodiments, it may be preferable to transfer power at ahigh voltage and a low current, which may be carried by comparativelysmaller conductors. Power may reach power converter 1306 at a highvoltage and may be converted to power at a voltage and current suitableto EV 107.

Power converter 1306 may be configured to receive an input of DC and/orAC voltage and current, and may output DC and/or AC voltage and current.In some embodiments, power converter 1306 may have a first converterconfigured to convert AC to AC, a second converter configured to convertAC to DC, a third converter configured to convert DC to DC, and a fourthconverter configured to convert DC to AC. In some embodiments, the fourconverters may be implemented using shared electronics, with acontroller configured to operate the electronics to implement one ormore of the conversion functions at any given time.

In some embodiments, the first converter, the second converter, thethird converter and the fourth converter may be placed in parallel, andcontroller 1308 may connect a converter by switching one converter inand switching the other converters out, based on values sensed bysensors/sensor interfaces 601 and/or values of electrical parametersreceived by communication device 1310. For example, sensor(s)/sensorinterface(s) 1304 may sense a DC voltage of 10[V] on storage device 109in EV 107. Communication device 1310 may receive a signal from EV 107that storage device 109 is missing 500 Watt hour[Wh] to be completelycharged. Sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 may sense a DC voltage of500[V] at the output of IIEVC 102. Controller 1308 may receive thevalues from sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 and communication device1310 and switch in the DC/DC power converter in power converter 1306while switching out AC/AC, AC/DC and DC/AC power converters in powerconverter 1306. Cable 1320 may transfer DC power from IIEVC 102 at avoltage value of 500[V] to EV 107 and convert the transferred power from500[W] with a voltage value of 500[V] and a current value of 1[A] to avoltage value of 10[V] and a current value of 50[A].

In some embodiments, power converter 1306 may have a first converterconfigured to convert AC to AC and/or AC to DC, a second converterconfigured to convert DC to DC and/or DC to AC. The first converter andsecond converter may be placed in parallel, and controller 1308 mayconnect a converter by switching one converter in and switching theother converters out, based on values sensed by sensors/sensorinterfaces 601 and/or values of electrical parameters received bycommunication device 1310.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which shows a block diagram of a powersystem 1100 according to illustrative embodiments. Power system 1100 mayinclude a cable 1320, a power source 1301, and a load 1302. Cable 1320may include sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 and power converter 1306which may be the same components as components of cable 1320 of FIG. 10.Cable 1320 may include a user interface 1312. Cable 1320 may transferpower from power source 1301 to load 1302. Power source 1301 may be abattery, a photovoltaic power source, a hydropower source, a grid, awind power source, a geothermal power source, a hydrogen power source, atidal power source, a wave energy power source, a hydroelectric powersource, a biomass power source, a nuclear power source, and/or a fossilfuel power source. In some embodiments, power source 1301 may include orbe connected to an IIEVC (not explicitly depicted). Load 1302 may be anEV.

Cable 1320 may include a communication device 1310 configured to receiveand transfer data to load 1302 and/or power source 1301 using PLC, wiredcommunication, wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth™,ZigBee™, WiFi™ etc.), acoustic communication, etc. In some embodiments,communication device 1310 may be placed at an end of cable 1320configured to connect to load 1302, or at an end of cable 1320configured to connect to power source 1301. One reason for placingcommunication device 1310 at the end of cable 1320 is because the endmay be as close as possible to load 1302 and/or power source 1301 and asmall distance may be to prevent communication interferences and/orelectromagnetic interferences. For instance, if the communication device1310 were placed near the center of the cable 1320 where suchinterferences may be present, the interferences may hinder the abilityof the communication device 1310 to communicate with other devices.

In some embodiments, user interface 1312 may display one or moreparameters, such as the voltage of load 1302, the current flowing intoload 1302, the temperature at one or more system locations (e.g., thetemperature of cable 1320, power source 1301, and/or load 1302), theconnection status between cable 1320 and power source 1301 (e.g.,connected, disconnected, and/or not connected correctly), the connectionstatus between cable 1320 and load 1302 and/or current flow direction(e.g., charge/discharge status). In embodiments where load 1302 has astorage device (e.g., a battery), user interface 1312 may display thestate of charge of the storage device. In an embodiment where load 1302is an EV, user interface 1312 may display mileage charged (mileagecharged may refer to how many miles the car can travel under the presentlevel of charge), mileage left to fully charge, and/or number of milesneeded for next planned trip (similar to as shown in area 421 of FIG.4A) which may be determined as follows: number of miles for the tripminus the number of miles charged may equal the number of miles leftneeded to charge.

In some embodiments, user interface 1312 may receive user inputs andoutput alerts to notify the user of various conditions. For instance,user interface 1312 may have “start charging” and “stop charging”buttons and a “set percentage of charge” setting, which may be specifiedby the user in terms of percentage of battery filled or number of milesthe EV is able to traverse (e.g., charge to 93 percent or charge enoughfor a planned trip of 121 miles). The user interface may have a visualalert for when cable 1320 disconnects from power source 1301 or load1302, a visual alert reporting leakage between power source 1301 andload 1302, and a distress button configured to contact the authorities(e.g., police, fire department, and medical services).

In some embodiments, user interface 1312 may use different colors toindicate different operational conditions and/or alerts. For example,user interface 1312 may display a red screen in case of an error orphysical and/or electrical disconnection from power source 1301 and/orfrom load 1302. User interface 1312 may display a yellow screen whilepower from power source 1301 is flowing in full capacity with regard toload 1302 and power source 1301. For example, if load 1302 is configuredto receive power at 100 Volts [V] and 10 Amps [A] and power source 1301is transferring 1000 Watts [W], user interface 1312 may display a yellowscreen showing power is flowing at full capacity. In some embodiments,user interface 1312 may provide (e.g., using a speaker element) audiblealerts such as a speech, buzz, or ring sound, when the storage (e.g.,storage 109) is full and when cable 1320 is disconnected from powersource 1301 and/or load 803 in case of overheating.

In some embodiments, communication device 1310 in cable 1320 maycommunicate with power source 1301 and/or load 1302. Communication mayinclude transferring data such as, for example, values of electricparameters related to the power being transferred, values of electricparameters of the power that load 1302 wants to receive, values ofelectric parameters that power source 1301 may be able to provide, andconnection status of cable 1320. In addition to transferring data,communication may also include commands to disable and/or enable certaincomponents and/or mechanisms. For example, communication device 1310 maycommunicate to load 1302 that cable 1320 is transferring power to load1302 and, as a result, may also instruct load 1302 to disable certainmechanisms and/or components. In some embodiments, load 1302 may have asafety mechanism configured to disable load 1302 when cable 1320 istransferring power and/or when cable 1320 is connected. An example ofdisabling and/or enabling mechanisms and/or components may be disablingand enabling the ability of load 1302 to operate. In some embodiments,load 1302 may be an EV. When charging load 1302 using cable 1320 totransfer power from power source 1301, communication device 1310 mayinstruct the load 1302 to disable its movement ability (e.g., byenabling an immobilizer mechanism) to prevent load 1302 from driving offwhile charging.

In an embodiment where load 1302 is an EV and cable 1320 is configuredto charge load 1302, communication device 1310 in cable 1320 maycommunicate with other mechanisms surrounding cable 1320 and/ormechanisms other than load 1302 and/or power source 1301. For example,power source 1301 may be located in a garage. While charging load 1302using cable 1320, communication device 1310 may be configured tocommunicate with the garage door (e.g., by embedding a wirelesstransceiver in cable 1320, and a similar transceiver in a garage-doorcontroller). User interface 1312 may include an option for pressing abutton configured to open and close the garage door. In someembodiments, power source 1301 may be placed in a residential orcommercial compound, which may have an automation system (e.g., a homeautomation system) with a communication transceiver. While using cable1320 to charge load 1302, communication device 1310 may communicate withthe automation system to control the automation system itself andcomponents coupled to the automation system. For example, communicationdevice 1310 may instruct the automation system to enable, disable, orset a parameter value (e.g., lumen value, temperature value) for lights,air-conditioning, hot water heating, and surround system.

In some embodiments, sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 may beconfigured to sense proximity to load 1302 and/or power source 1301using proximity sensors such as: capacitive displacement sensor, Dopplereffect based sensor, eddy current sensor, inductive sensor, magneticsensor, magnetic proximity fuse, photodetector, laser rangefinder,charge coupled device, infrared sensor, radar based sensor, Sonar,ultrasonic transducer, hall effect sensor etc. User interface 1312 mayvisually and/or auditorily alert the user when cable 1320 is inproximity to load 1302 and/or power source 1301. User interface 1312 mayvisually and/or auditorily alert the user as cable 1320 is gettingcloser or further from cables 701 connection point to load 1302 and/orpower source 1301. User interface 1312 may provide visual and/orauditory indications of proximity to and/or connection status toconnection points in load 1302 and/or power source 1301. For example,cable 1320 may be configured to be plugged into load 1302. Userinterface 1312 may visually display distance, direction, and/oralignment between a cable 1320 connection point and a load 1302connection point. User interface 1312 may provide different auditoryalerts based on distance, direction, and/or alignment between cable 1320connection point and load 1302 connection point. The auditory alert maybe a periodic audio ping (e.g., a beeping sound), a buzzing sound,and/or a voice message announcing the distance, direction, and/oralignment between a cable 1320 connection point and a load 1302connection point and/or power source 1301. As an example, the alert maybe a periodic audio ping and as load 1302 (e.g., EV 107) moves closer tocable 1320, the frequency of the audio ping may increase and/or thedecibel level of the audio ping may increase. As load 1302 moves awayfrom cable 1320, the frequency of the audio ping may decrease and/or thedecibel level of the audio ping may decrease.

Sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 may be configured to sense proximityto load 1302 and/or power source 1301 using, for example, visual sensingor magnetic sensing. Load 1302 and/or power source 1301 may have adevice coupled to and sensible by sensors/sensor interfaces 601. In someembodiments, communication device 1310 may receive the distance,direction, and/or alignment between cable 1320 connection point and load1302 connection point from load 1302 sensed by internal sensor(s) inload 1302. In some embodiments, communication device 1310 may receivethe distance, direction, and/or alignment between a cable 1320connection point and a power source 1301 connection point from powersource 1301 sensed by internal sensor(s) in power source 1301. Forexample, communication device 1310 may receive an indication that cable1320 is 2 ft. away from load 1302, and that cable 1320 is 45 degrees(counter clockwise) from a receptacle in load 1302.

In some embodiments, sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 may beconfigured to sense movement around and contact of another object withcable 1320. For example, sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 may beconfigured to detect a person attempting to disconnect cable 1320 fromload 1302 and/or power source 1301. Communication device 1310 may beconfigured to transmit an alert to a user interface, which may displaythe alert, output an auditory sound, and/or output a tangible alert(e.g., vibration) as a result of the movement. Communication device 1310may be configured to provide an alert when the movement sensed is largerthan a configured value. The user interface may be on a mobile phone,tablet, computer, watch, etc. As a result of the alert, the user isinformed of when any person attempts to disconnect cable 1320 from load1302, which may be indicative of a person attempting to steal load 1302.

Reference is now made to FIG. 12 which shows an illustrative embodimentof a connector 1205 which may be part of cable 1320 of FIG. 11,according to illustrative embodiments. Connector 1205 may be placed atan end of a cable (e.g., cable 1320) and may connect to a cable at acable attachment 1206. Connector 1205 may have a handle 1207, designedfor a comfortable and balanced holding of connector 1205. Connector 1205may further have pins 1209 configured to connect to a power sourceand/or a load such as power source 1301 and load 1302 of FIG. 11. Pins1209 may have one or more pins for the transfer of current and/or powerfrom a power source to a load. Pins 1209 may further include a controlpin, a proximity detection pin, a communication pin, and a groundconnection pin. In some embodiments, pins 1209 may include acommunication pin. A communication pin may transfer a signal using, forexample, a twisted pair communication cable, a fiber optic data cable,or any other communication cable. Connector 1205 may have a safetymechanism 1208 configured to click-on to a load and/or a power sourceoutlet. Safety mechanism 1208 may prevent an unintentional disconnect ofconnector 1205 and pins 1209 from a load and/or a power source.

In some embodiments, some or all the components of cable 1320 of FIG. 11such as sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304, power converter 1306 anduser interface 1312 may physically be located in/on connector 1205rather than in cable 1320. That is, one or more of the sensor(s)/sensorinterface(s) 1304, power converter 1306, communication device 1310,controller 1308, and user interface 1312 may be located in/on connector1205 rather than in/on cable 1320. In some cases, connector 1205 mayinclude each of the above-listed components of cable 1320. In suchcases, connector 1205 may be coupled to the end of a basic cable. Abasic cable may be a typical cable that includes a conductor, insulatingsheath, and one or more connection points on each end of the cable. Abasic cable does not include the above-listed components (e.g.,sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304, power converter 1306, communicationdevice 1310, controller 1308, and user interface 1312) of cable 1320. Asa result of coupling the connector 1205 with the basic cable, the basiccable is retrofitted and/or otherwise provided with the functionalitiesthe various above-listed components of cable 1320.

In other cases, connector 1205 may include some of the above-listedcomponents of cable 1320 and the cable may include the remainder of theabove-listed components. For example, connector 1205 may include powerconverter 1306, communication device 1310, controller 1308, and userinterface 1312. In such an example, the cable may include thesensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304. Once coupled, the various componentsof the connector 1205 may communicate and/or otherwise interact withvarious components of the cable.

Connector 1205 may be produced from a rigid material while the rest ofthe cable may be produced from a more flexible material. The flexibilityof the cable may make it easier to connect the cable on one end to apower device and at a second end to a load. The rigidness of connector1205 may protect the components included in connector 1205. For example,the cable may connect to an IIEVC on one end and to an EV on the other.The IIEVC and the EV might not always be vertically and/or horizontallyaligned with one another, creating a situation where flexibility of thecable may ease the connection of the IIEVC and the EV. However, thecable may be exposed to trauma (e.g., an EV may periodically drive overan associated charging cable, or a charging cable may be dropped), so itmay be beneficial to locate certain components in a protective, rigidconnector 1205.

In some embodiments, user interface 1312 may be integrated in or mountedon connector 1205 rather than in/on the cable 1320. In FIG. 12, the userinterface 1312 is depicted as user interface 1204, which includes thesame functionality as user interface 1312. One example of user interface1204 being integrated in connector 1205 may be using user interface aspart of the outer structure of connector 1205. Connector 1205 mayinclude buttons 1210, which may be separate from user interfaces 1204screen (as shown in FIG. 12) or may be part of user interfaces 1204(e.g., as part of a touch screen (not shown)). User interface 1204 maybe powered by power flowing through the cable (e.g., cable 1320) andconnector 1205. Alternatively, user interface 1204 may be powered by anexternal power source (e.g., a battery, photovoltaic cells, etc.)separate from a power source providing the power flowing through thecable (e.g., power to charge the load).

In some embodiments, pins 1209 may protrude from connector 1205, andconnector 1205 may include a pins protector 1211. Protector 1211 mayprevent pins 1209 from being damaged by an external object or surface.In some embodiments, pins 1209 may be flat and may be designed toconnect to a load and/or power source by touch. In some embodiments,connector 1205 may be configured to connect to a load and/or a powersource using a magnetic force. Protector 1211 and/or pins 1209 may bepartially or fully magnetized, so that when connecting connector 1205 toa load or to a power source, a receptacle part designed to receive pins1209 may be configured to connect to connector 1205 as well as aligningtogether with connector 1205 according to the placement of pins 1209. Amagnetic force connecting connector 1205 to a load or a power source mayfunction as a safety mechanism which may prevent unintentionalunplugging of connector 1205. For example, a human may apply a force of500 Newtons [N]. If a magnetic force between pins protector 1211 and areceptacle socket in a load is created and set to 750[N], anunintentional disconnection of connector 1205 from the load may beprevented. A magnetic force may be created in connector 1205 usingelectrical power, and/or may be created in the respective plug in theload or power source.

In some embodiments, connector 1205 may plug and lock to a respectivereceptacle of a load or power source using a mechanical lock (not shown)such as a latch. Connector 1205 may lock and unlock to and from itsrespective receptacle using a mechanical key or an electric keyactivated by a controller. Connector 1205 may have a lock 1213 designedto receive a mechanical key via a key hole of the lock, and may beconfigured to lock and unlock connector 1205 to a load and/or powersource depending on the position of the key. Additionally, oralternatively, the key may be an electrical key and lock 1213 may bedesigned to communicate with the electrical via a wired connection,which may be established when the key contacts a surface of lock 1213(e.g., a surface of lock 1213 defining the key hole). Lock 1213 may beconfigured to lock and/or unlock upon a contact with the electrical key.For instance, a first contact may cause lock 1213 to lock while thesecond (e.g., next) contact may cause lock 1213 to unlock. Additionally,or alternatively, the key may be a proximity key and lock 1213 may bedesigned to automatically establish a connection with and communicatewith the proximity key when the proximity key is within a maximum presetdistance (e.g., 1 meter, 10 meters) of lock 1213. Lock 1213 may beconfigured to unlock when the proximity key is near (e.g., within themaximum preset distance) of lock 1213. Lock 1213 may be configured tolock when the proximity key is not near (e.g., outside the maximumpreset distance) of lock 1213, which may be determined by losing itsconnection with the proximity key.

In some embodiments, a key designed to fit into keyhole of lock 1213 mayactivate a magnetic force configured to lock pins protector 1211 to apower source and/or load configured to connect to connector 1205.Locking connector 1205 to a power source and/or load may preventunauthorized hands from disconnecting and unplugging connector 1205 fromthe respective power source and/or load.

In some embodiments, connector 1205 may include a fingerprint scanner1212. Fingerprint scanner 1212 may be configured to lock/unlock lock1213 of connector 1205 from its respective receptacle plug. Connector1205 may be locked using a magnetic force, and fingerprint scanner 1212may be configured to lock or unlock connector 1205 by either enabling ordisabling the magnetic force. In a different embodiment, connector 1205may lock to a receptacle retaining surface of the power source or loadusing a mechanical lock such as a latch (not shown). Fingerprint scanner1212 may cause the latch to move from one position to a second (and viceversa), where the first position may be configured to lock connector1205 to a corresponding receptacle retaining surface of the power sourceor load and the second position may be configured to unlock connector1205 from the corresponding receptacle retaining surface of the powersource or load. Connector 1205 may lock and/or unlock to its respectivereceptacle by pressing on one or more buttons 1210 or on user interface1312/1204. Fingerprint scanner 1212 may enable the locking/unlockingoption in buttons 1210 or user interface 1312/1204. In some embodiments,connector 1205 may connect to and/or disconnect from a load and/or apower source using a remote user interface configured to communicatewith cable 1320 from a distance, such as an application running on amobile phone or on a computer. Connector 1205 may be remotely lockedand/or unlocked from a load and/or a power source using a remote userinterface.

Reference is now made to FIG. 13, which shows a block diagram of a powersystem 900 a according to illustrative embodiments. Power system 900 amay include cable 1320, power source 1301, and load 1302. Cable 1320 mayconnect between power source 1301 and load 1302 with one end of cable1320 being designed to couple to power source 1301 and the other end ofcable 1320 being designed to couple to load 1302. Power system 900 a mayinclude user interface 1312, which may be an extension of cable 1320such that user interface 1312 may be connected to, added to, or mountedon to cable 1320. User interface 1312 may display the same information,and have the same user interface functionalities as user interfaces704/1204. User interface 1312 may be powered by an external power sourcewith regard to cable 1320, such as a battery, photovoltaic cells, etc.In some embodiments, user interface 1312 may be electromagneticallycoupled to cable 1320 and may be powered by drawing power from cable1320 using electromagnetic methods. In some embodiments, cable 1320 mayinclude sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304, power converter 1306,controller 1308, and communication device 1310.

Reference is now made to FIG. 14A, which shows add-on clamp 1400 aaccording to illustrative embodiments. Clamp 1400 a may clamp on usingtips 1403 a where tips 1403 a may be configured to be separated(referred to as “opened”) and joined (referred to as “closed”). Clamp1400 a may have handles 1401 a configured to open clamp 1400 a as aresult of pressure applied to handles 1401 a, and close clamp 1400 a asa result of lack of pressure to handles 1401 a. Clamp 1400 a may bedesigned to have a default position, for example, a closed position (asshown in FIG. 14A). Clamp 1400 a may be biased in the default positionby a spring 1404 configured to force clamp 1400 a to the default, closedposition using a force generated by the spring. In some examples, theforce may be generated using the moment of a spring (i.e. M=k·Δθ, whereM is the moment on the spring, k is the spring coefficient and Δθ is theangle between handles 1401 a relatively to when clamp 1400 a is closed).In some embodiments, handles 1401 a may have areas parallel to eachother for grip ease of clamp 1400 a. In some embodiments, user interface1402 a may be mounted on clamp 1400 a. User interface 1402 a may be thesame as or similar to user interface 1312 of FIG. 13.

Clamp 1400 a may be designed to clamp onto an EV charging cable and/oran EV charging connector. For instance, when clamp 1400 a is in the openposition, clamp 1400 a may receive the EV charging cable and/or EVcharging connector. When clamp 1400 a is in the closed position, aninterior surface of clamp 1400 a may be sized to contact an outersurface of the EV charging cable and/or EV charging connector. The clamp1400 a may fixedly couple to the EV charging cable and/or EV chargingconnector as a result of a friction fit between the inner surface of theclamp 1400 a and the outer surface of the EV charging cable and/or EVcharging connector. The clamp 1400 a may fixedly couple to the EVcharging cable and/or EV charging connector also as a result of pressureapplied by clamp 1400 a to the outer surface of the EV charging cableand/or EV charging connector. The pressure may be generated by spring1404.

Reference is now made to FIG. 14B, which shows an embodiment of anadd-on clamp 1400 b according to illustrative embodiments. Clamp 1400 bmay include components that are the same or similar as the components ofclamp 1400 a: handles 1401 b, tips 1403 b, and spring mechanism 1404 maybe the same as handles 1401 a, tips 1403 a, and spring 1404,respectively. Clamp 1400 b may also clamp to the EV charging cableand/or EV charging connector in the same manner as clamp 1400 a. Userinterface 1402 b (e.g., screen) may be connected to clamp 1400 b viajoints 1406 and 1407. Joints 1406 and 1407 may be configured to adjustthe position and/or angle of user interface 1402 b. For instance, joints1406 and 1407 may be configured to pivot when the user adjusts userinterface 1402 b while retaining a measure of pivotal resistance suchthat joints 1406 and 1407 hold the user interface in a fixed positionrelative to clamp 1400 b when the user is not adjusting user interface1402 b. User interface 1402 b may be a screen and include the samefunctionalities as any user interface described herein (e.g., userinterface 1312 of FIG. 13).

Reference is now made to FIG. 15, which shows a connector 1500 accordingto illustrative embodiments. In some embodiments, a clamp 1501 may bedesigned to clamp on and off from connector 1500. Clamp 1501 may includecomponents that are the same or similar as the components of clamp 1400a or 1400 b. Clamp 1501 may be clamped on connector 1500. For instance,when clamp 1501 is in the open position, clamp 1501 may receiveconnector 1500. When clamp 1501 is in the default, biased, closedposition, an interior surface of clamp 1501 may be sized to contact anouter surface of connector 1500. The clamp 1501 may fixedly couple toconnector 1500 as a result of a friction fit between the inner surfaceof the clamp 1501 and the outer surface of connector 1500. The clamp1501 may fixedly couple to connector 1500 also as a result of pressureapplied by clamp 1501 to the outer surface of connector 1500. Thepressure may be generated by a spring of clamp 1501. In some instances,the outer surface of connector 1500 defines a recess configured toreceive clamp 1501.

A user interface 1502 may be mounted on clamp 1501. User interface 1502may display the same information and includes the same functionalitiesas user interface 1204 of FIG. 12. User interface 1502 may draw power byan external power source (such as a battery or photovoltaic cells)separate from a power source providing the power flowing through cableconnector 1500 (e.g., power to charge the load). In some embodiments,user interface 1502 may be powered by a cable connected to connector1500 when clamp 1501 is clamped on connector 1500. In some embodiments,clamp 1501 may be magnetically coupled to connector 1500, so that whenconnector 1500 is transferring power, clamp 1501 may transfer power touser interface 1502.

Reference is now made to FIG. 16, which shows a cable add-on 1600according to illustrative embodiments. Cable add-on 1600 may connect toa cable configured to connect an EV to a power source. Cable add-on 1600may be designed to connect to a cable at connection point 1601 and mayconnect to an EV using pins 1605. Cable add-on 1600 may have a cavity1602 configured to hold a safety mechanism of a cable (for example,safety mechanism 1208 of FIG. 12. Safety mechanism 1604 may be designedto click into an EV or a power source. Safety mechanism 1604 may be anL-shaped latch that prevents cable add-on 1600 from disconnectingaccidently from an appropriate mate (e.g., a retaining tab of the EV orpower source). Safety mechanism 1604 may include or be connected toelectronics designed to electrically couple to a load and/or a powersource. When safety mechanism 1604 connects to a load and/or a powersource, the electronics of safety mechanism 1604 may enable the transferof power through a cable connected at connection point 1601 and throughcable add-on 1600. For example, safety mechanism 1604 may house aresistor configured to electrically couple to a circuit in a load. Theresistor housed in safety mechanism 1604 may serve as a “key” in thesense that when the circuit in the load senses the resistor (e.g., byimpedance detection) housed in safety mechanism 1604, the flow of poweris enabled. When the resistor in safety mechanism 1604 is not sensed bythe circuit in the load, the power flow is disabled. Sensing of theresistor housed in safety mechanism 1604 may be done with a currentsensor in the load that is configured to sense current flow through abranch shorted with the resistor housed in safety mechanism 1604.

Cable add-on 1600 may function as an adapter between a cable and a load,and/or an adapter between a power source and a cable. In a firstembodiment, pins 1605 may be the same as pins designed to connect toconnection point 1601. In a second embodiment, pins 1605 may bedifferent from pins designed to connect to connection point 1601. Cableadd-on 1600 may include buttons 1607 and user interface 1606, which mayinclude similar functionalities to buttons 1210 and user interface 1204of FIG. 12, respectively.

Reference is now made to FIG. 17A, which shows a block diagram of apower system 1700 according to illustrative embodiments. In someembodiments, power system 1700 may have a cable add-on 1700 b placedbetween and coupled to cable 1703 and load 1702. Cable add-on 1700 b mayinclude sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 17601 b and power converter 17602b, which may have the same functionality as similar components of FIG.10. In some embodiments, sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 17601 b may beconfigured to sense current, voltage, and/or power at an output of acable 1703. In some embodiments, sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 17601 bmay be configured to sense current, voltage, and/or power at an input ofa load 1702. Power converter 17602 b may be placed in cable add-on 1700b and configured to convert power from cable 1703 at a first current andfirst voltage to power at a second current and second voltage to chargeload 1702. Power converter 17602 b may be, for example, a DC-to-DCconverter (e.g., a buck converter, boost converter, buck+boostconverter, flyback converter, forward converter, buck-boost converter,or charge pump converter).

In some embodiments, power system 1700 may have a cable add-on 1700 aplaced between and coupled to a power source 1701 and cable 1703 (wherecable add-ons 1700 a and 1700 b may be similar or the same).Sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 17601 a of cable add-on 1700 a may sensethe value of current, voltage and/or power at an output of power source1701 and/or sense the current, voltage and/or power at an input to cable1703. Power converter 17602 a may be, for example, a DC-to-DC converter(e.g., a buck converter, boost converter, buck+boost converter, flybackconverter, forward converter, buck-boost converter, or charge pumpconverter).

Cable add-ons 1700 a-b may include controllers 17605 a-b, respectively.Controllers 17605 a-b may have same functionality as controller 1308 ofFIG. 10. Controller 17605 a may control power converter 17602 a suchthat depending on the values of the electrical parameters (e.g., power,voltage, and current) read by sensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 17601 a,power converter 17602 a may set output current and voltage values fromcable add-on 1700 a and input current and voltage values to cable add-on1700 b. Controller 17605 b may control power converter 17602 b andaccording to the values of the electrical parameters sensed bysensor(s)/sensor interface(s) 1304 b at the input to cable add-on 1700b, may adjust the values of the electrical parameters at an input toload 1702.

Power system 1700 may have cable 1703 with cable add-on 1700 aelectrically coupled to power source 1701 and cable add-on 1700 belectrically coupled to load 1702. In some embodiments power source 1701may output power at a first voltage and a first current, cable add-on1700 a may adjust the first voltage to a second voltage and adjust thefirst current to a second current because cable 1703 may be configuredor more efficient to transfer power at the second voltage and the secondcurrent. Cable add-on 1700 b may adjust the second voltage to a thirdvoltage and the second current to a third current because load 1702 maybe configured to receive power at the third voltage and the thirdcurrent.

Cable add-ons 1700 a and 1700 b may include communication devices 17604a and 17604 b, respectively. Communication devices 17604 a and 17604 bmay be have the same functionality as similarly numbered communicationdevice 1310 of FIG. 10.

Cable add-ons 1700 a and 1700 b may include user interfaces 1704 a and1704 b, respectively. User interfaces 1704 a and 1704 b may be have thesame functionality as similarly numbered user interface 1312 of FIG. 11.

Reference is now made to FIG. 17B-17C, which show an illustrativeembodiment of a connector 1705 configured to connect to a cable add-on1712 according to illustrative embodiments. FIG. 17B shows an instancewhere cable add-on 1712 is connected to connector 1705 and FIG. 17Cshows an instance where cable add-on 1712 is disconnected from connector1705. Safety mechanism 1707 of connector 1705 may be substantiallyL-shaped latch and configured to click into cavity 1713 of cable add-on1712 such that the latch engages a retaining surface of cavity 1713 andthe tab of cable add-on 1712 resulting in a coupling of connector 1705with cable add-on 1712. Pins 1714 may be configured to plug into aninput 1715 of cable add-on 1712 while cable add-on 1712 may be designedto receive pins protector 1716 with its receptacle. Pins 1714 ofconnector 1705 may be arranged, shaped, and/or sized differently or thesame as pins 1709 of cable add-on 1712. Connector 1705 may be shaped toprovide a handle 1706. Connector 1705 may lock to a receptacle retainingsurface of a power source such as power source 1701 or a load such asload 1702 using a mechanical lock (not shown) for example. The Connector1705 may include similar features and/or functionality as provided anddescribed above with respect to connector 1205.

In some embodiments, user interface 1710 may be electrically and/ormagnetically coupled to cable add-on 1712 and may draw power from thepower flowing through connector 1705 and cable add-on 1712. Userinterface may have the same functionality and displays the sameinformation as user interface 1204 of FIG. 12. In some embodiments, userinterface 1710 may be powered by an external power source (e.g., abattery or photovoltaic cells).

In some embodiments, user interface 1710 may include a touch screen. Insome embodiments, user interface 1710 may be coupled to buttons 1711such that buttons 1711 may select options displayed or control userinterface 1710. User interface 1710 may output (via a display or anaudible message) one or more of: state of charge (presented as apercentage and or as a value), voltage needed for the load, currentvoltage of cable, current voltage of cable add-on 1712, amount of powerflowing through cable 1703, amount of power flowing through cable add-on1712, temperatures in cable 1703, temperatures in connector 1705,temperatures in a load connected to pins 1709, connection status of pins1714 to cable add-on 1712, connection status of pins 1709 to a load, andnotification if charge is enough for upcoming objective such as aplanned trip of an EV (e.g., EV currently has enough power stored totravel to a user preset destination). Cable add-on 1712 may have anaudible alert (e.g., ring, buzz, beep, voice), alerting on disconnectionof a cable from a plug, end of charge, error while charging, etc.

Reference is now made to FIG. 18 which illustrates a flow chart of amethod 1800 for charging a load (load(s) 110/1302/1702 for example usinga cable (cable 1320/1703 for example), according to illustrativeembodiments. Step 1801 includes coupling a cable to a load. In someembodiments, the load may be an EV (EV 506/706 for example) configuredto receive power from a power source (power sources 101/501n/701/1301/1701 for example). In some embodiments, a first end of thecable may be permanently connected to the power source, and in otherembodiments the cable bay be designed to plug into and unplug from thepower source using a connector (connector 1205/1500/1705 for example)placed at the first end of the cable. A second end of the cable,opposite the first, may include a connector configured to connect to theload, and the load may include a receptacle designed to receive theconnector of the plug.

At step 1802 sensors (sensor-sensor interfaces 217/601 for example)housed in the connector placed at the first and/or second end of thecable may sense the connection between the connector and the receptaclein the load and/or the power source. The connection between theconnector and the load and/or the power source may include the placementof the connector in the corresponding receptacle. The connector may havea power circuit (power converters 103/203/303/503/703/1306/17602 a/17602b for example) configured to couple to an electronic component placed inthe corresponding receptacle such that when the connector is placed inthe receptacle correctly the electronic component in the receptacle iscoupled to the power circuit in the connector, and the electroniccomponent may change an electric parameter (e.g., voltage, current,impedance) in the power circuit and the sensor(s) may measure thechange.

A controller (controllers 213/313/510/715/1308/1760 a/17605 b forexample) coupled to the sensor(s) may determine according to themeasurement of the sensor(s) if the connection of the connector to thereceptacle is. If the connection is successful, a communication devicemay signal the power source to start transferring power and/or maysignal the load to start drawing power (for example steps in methods600/610/800). In some embodiments, the cable may have a user interface(GUI 400, user interfaces 1204/1312/1502/1606/1704 a/1704 b for example)configured to display certain values and alerts with regard to thecharging of the load and the power output by the power source. The userinterface may display and/or alert audibly if the cable is connectedand/or disconnected correctly from the power source and/or the loadsuccessful.

In step 1803 the power is transferred from the power source to the loadvia the cable, following the reception of the signal from thecommunication device in the cable that the connection of the connectorto the receptacle was successful and/or that it is safe to starttransferring power. As the power is transferring, step 1804 may includemeasuring values of the electrical parameters of the power beingtransferred. The electrical parameters may include the voltage level ofthe power delivery, the current level of the power delivery and/or thepower level which may be computed by multiplying the current and thevoltage. In some embodiments the user interface may display the levelsof charge, such as the voltage value on the load, the level of currentflowing through the cable, the temperature on the cable, the voltage onthe cable, and the amount of power flowing through the cable etc.

When the connector is connected to the load, the communication device(communication devices 1310/17604 a/17604 b for example) in theconnector may receive from the load values of electrical parameterswhich are safe and best fit for the load to receive. In someembodiments, the values of electrical parameters which are safe and bestfit for the load to receive are received by an intermediary device(e.g., an adapter device or a retrofit communication device) coupled tothe load configured to receive the values from the load. In someembodiments, the values of electrical parameters which are safe and bestfit for the load to receive are received by the load itself. In someembodiments, the sensor(s) in the connector may sense certain electricalparameters on the load, and according to assessments done by thecontroller using look-up tables, determine what safe values of the otherelectrical parameters may be. For example, the sensor(s) in theconnector may sense that the voltage on the load is 12[V], thecontroller may decide according to a specific look-up table that a safecurrent may be 5[A] considering the type of load.

At step 1805, the controller housed in the connector may compare thevalues of the electrical parameters measured by the sensor(s) withelectrical parameters of the load. If the values of the electricalparameters of the power being transferred from the power source to theload are safe with regard to the values of the electrical parametersreceived by the communication device, the transfer of power may becontinued and the load may be charged by the power source, at step 1807.In some embodiments, the user interface may provide a display and/or analert indicating if the values of the electrical parameters are safe,including which electrical parameter are at safe levels and which arenot.

If the values of the electrical parameters of the power beingtransferred are not safe with regard to the values of the electricalparameters received by the communication device, at step 1806 the powermay be adjusted to bring all electrical parameters to safe levels. Insome embodiments, adjusting the power may be done by signaling the powersource to transfer power at safe values of electrical parameters. Insome embodiments, adjusting the power may be done by the cableconverting the power transferred from the power source to the load, withan integrated power converter. In some embodiments, the power convertermay be a DC/DC converter, DC/AC converter, AC/DC converter and/or AC/ACconverter. The integrated power converter may be housed in the connectorof the cable connecting the power source to the load. After theelectrical parameters are adjusted, the values of the electricalparameters are measured again in step 1804. If the values of theelectrical parameters are safe (step 1805) the power is transferred fromthe power source to the load and the power source charges the load (step1807).

Step 1808 includes checking if the load is fully charged, and/or chargedaccording to a set state of charge, (e.g., a state of charge set beforeor while charging, for example, 85% charge). If the target set level ofcharge is reached, (the charging process is finished), the communicationdevice in the cable may receive a signal from the load that the chargingprocess is finished. In some embodiments, the cable may receive a targetlevel of charge from the load at the beginning of the charge. Forexample, if the load is an EV, the load may indicate to thecommunication device that the load needs energy for 23 miles of travelmore than the current state of charge. The cable may measure the amountof power that transferred from the power source to the load through thecable, and if the amount of power reaches the target level of charge thecharging process is stopped.

If the charging process is not finished the transfer of power continuesand the method returns to step 1804. If the charging process is finishedthe charging process is stopped and the transfer of power stops at step1809. In some embodiments, the user interface may display the amount ofenergy that was charged and how much use the user may get with theamount of energy charged. For example, in an embodiment where the loadis an EV, the user interface may display how many kilometers and/ormiles the load may travel. In some embodiments, the user interface mayprovide an alert that the charging process was finished, where the alertmay be displayed on a screen and may be an audible alert such as a beep,buzz and/or a voice announcing a message.

Reference is now made FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C which show block diagramsof power system configuirations 1900 a, 1900 b and 1900 c, according toillustrative embodiments. Several of the various embodiments describedabove may be implemented in accordance with the examples depicted inFIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C. As shown in FIGS. 19A, 19B, and 19C, threepowers P1, P2 and P3 are shown connected to enclosure 1912. Connectionof P1, P2 and P3 may be by connection of respective cables between powerconverters 1910 a, 1910 b and generators 1908. Both mechanical andelectrical connection of the cables may be by cable glands attached toenclosure and enclosures of power converters 1910 a and 1910 b (notshown). Similar mechanical and electrical connection of cables may forexample be between photovoltaic (PV) units 1902 and power converters1910 a, storages 1904 and power converters 1910 b and between generators1908 and enclosure 1912. Multiple terminal blocks which enable theterminations of the conductors of the cables may be included inenclosure 1912 as well as in the enclosures of power converters 1910 aand 1910 b (not shown) and generators 1908 (not shown).

Power P1 may be provided from power converters 1910 a which convertpower from photovoltaic units 1902. Photovoltaic units 1902 may beexamples of sources of direct current (DC) power. Other examples of DCpower may include DC power provided from DC generators, storage devicessuch as batteries or supercapacitors. Other examples of sources of DCpower may be provided from a rectified source of AC power provided froma utility grid and/or AC generator or DC derived from a switch modepower supply (SMPS) for example. Photovoltaic units 1902 may be interconnected in various serial and/or parallel connections to give DC poweroutputs converted by converters 1910 a where power P1 may be terminatedin input terminals of enclosure 1912 to provide multiple sources of bothDC and/or AC powers. Examples of multiple sources of both DC and/or ACpowers may include power sources 501 a . . . 501 n and 502 a . . . 502 nof EV 506 as shown in FIG. 5 As such converters 1910 a may include bothDC to DC converters and DC to AC inverters as shown with respect toillustrative embodiments of IIEVCs 102, 702 and 509 for example.

Power P2 may be provided from power converters 1910 b which convertpower from storages 1904. Storages 1904 may include storage devices suchbatteries or supercapacitors. The flow of power P2 is shown as abi-directional flow of power since storages not only can be used tostore energy but also may provide energy to loads such as loads 1914 forexample. Power P2 may include multiple DC and/or AC powers conveyed overthe cables which connect between enclosure 1912 and power converters1910 b. As such converters 1910 b may provide a feature of providingconverters able to convert power P2 in order to store charge in storages1904 and/or convert power from storages 1904 to enclosure 1912 toprovide multiple sources of both DC and/or AC powers. Power P2 may beterminated in the terminals of enclosure 1912 along with theterminations from power P1 for example to provide multiple sources ofboth DC and/or AC powers.

Power P3 is depicted in a similar way as power power P1 and may beprovided from generators 1908. Generators 1908 may be fuel drivengeneratures or wind powered generators for example. As such power P3 mayinclude include multiple DC and/or AC powers conveyed over the cableswhich connect between enclosure 1912 and generators 1908.

Enclosure 1912 may connect to electric vehicle EV 1916 via a cable 1928and also to multiple loads 1914. Cable 1928 may connect to EV 1916 via aconnector 1906 b which connects to a corresponding recepticcal connectorof EVs 1916 (not shown). A controller 1918 may be included in enclosure1912 which may run an algoriothm which allows a configuration ofenclosure to supply power from powers P1, P2 and P3 to loads 1914 and/orstorage devices of EVs 1916 via operation of selector units 1920.Selector units 1920 may include multiple switches and/or relays (such asrelays 716 as shown in FIG. 7) which when selected selector unit 1920allow multiple connection paths to enable the supply of power from powersources to storages and/or loads. Examples of the types of connectionpaths are show by paths 113 b, 113 c, 113 d, 113 e, 113 f and 113 g,shown in FIGS. 1b-1g , and paths A1-A7 shown in FIG. 5.

In general, loads 1914 may include utility grids, an electric motors andstorage devices such as storages 1904 and/or storage devices of EVs 1916for example. Dislpay 208 mounted on enclosure 1912 may be similar tothat of GUI 400. Features of GUI 400 may also be included on a displayof connector 1906 b for example.

Control by the algorithm may allow selection by the selection units 1920to select the connection paths between the electrical power sourcesprovided by powers P1, P2 and P3 and the loads 1914 and/or storagedevices of EVs 1916. Which of the connection paths selected may beresponsive to grid tarrifs of utility grids connected to enclosure 1912.The connection paths selected may be also provide powers to loads 1914and/or storage devices of EVs 1916 by operation of power converters 1910a/1910 b through the connection paths responsive to the power demands ofloads 1914 and/or storage devices of EVs 1916. The selection of theconnection paths may be by use of relays such as relays 716 as shown inFIG. 7 which may switched responsive to currents sensed in power system700 according to method 800 for example. The power demands of loads 1914and/or storage devices of EVs 1916 may be sensed by sensors (not shown)operatively attached to controller 1918. The connection paths selectedmay also provide DC and/or AC input powers to the input terminals ofenclosure 1912 to be selectable form the electrical power sourcesprovided by powers P1, P2 and P3 terminated at the input terminals ofenclosure 1912 by selection units 1920. As such DC and/or AC inputpowers to the input terminals of enclosure 1912 may be converted byconverters 1910 a/1910 b to give multiple outputs of DC and/or AC poweron the output terminals of enclosure 1912. As such since multipleoutputs of DC and/or AC power may be available on the output terminalsof enclosure 1912, controllers, selector units similar to controller1918, selector unts 1920 may be included in connector 1906 b. As suchthe DC and AC power on the output terminals of enclosure 1912 may beconverted by multiple power converters located in connectors 1906 b toDC and/or AC powers to the corresponding connector recepticals of loads1914 and/or storage devices of EVs 1916. Alternatively, controllers,selector units similar to controller 1918, selector unts 1920 may beincluded in the cables and/or cable 1928 in particular.

Differences between FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C may concern connectors 1906.FIG. 19B shows two conectors 1906 a and 1906 b where connector 1906 a isplaced inside enclosure 1912 whereas FIG. 19A has connector 1906 bconnected between cable 1928 and corresponding connector recepticals ofstorage devices of EVs 1916. FIG. 19C also shows the possibility ofconnector 1906A provided on the exterior of enclosure 1912 which may beconnectable to corresponding connector recepticals of enclosure 1912(not shown). Each of connectors 1906 may or may not include controllers,selector units and sensors similar to controller 1918, selector unts1920 and sensors 217, 1304, 17601 a/b for example. In similar way powerconverters 1910 a and/or 1910 b may be included inside enclosure 1912 orbe connected exteriorly to enclosre 1912.

It is noted that various connections are set forth between elementsherein. These connections are described in general and, unless specifiedotherwise, may be direct or indirect; this specification is not intendedto be limiting in this respect. Further, elements of one embodiment maybe combined with elements from other embodiments in appropriatecombinations or sub combinations. For example, sensors/sensor interfaces217 of FIG. 2A may be included in inverter 302 b or EV charger 302 a ofFIG. 3. As another example, user interface 1710 may include all or someof the features of user interface 400 of FIG. 4A. Residual CurrentDetectors (RCD), Ground Fault Detector Interrupters (GFDI), fuse(s),breaker(s), safety switches(s) arc detector(s) and/or other types ofsafety circuitry that may protect one or more components of IIEVC 202may similarly incorporated in cables 1320/1703/1928 and connectors1205/1500/1705/1906 a/1906 b. Similarly power conversion circuitries ofFIG. 2A, 2B, 5, 7, or 9 may be included in connectors 1205/1500/1705and/or cables 1320/1703/1928.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are described asexample implementations of the following claims.

1. An apparatus comprising: an electric vehicle (EV) charger; a firstinput terminal configured to receive alternating current (AC) power froman electrical grid; a second input terminal configured to beelectrically connected to a secondary power source; an output terminalconfigured to provide electrical power to an electric vehicle; firstcurrent-limiting circuitry connected to the first input terminal,wherein the first current-limiting circuitry is configured to limitcurrent received on the first input terminal to a first maximum currentcorresponding to a first maximum power; and second current-limitingcircuitry connected to the output terminal, wherein the secondcurrent-limiting circuitry is configured to limit power output providedon the output terminal to a second maximum power that is greater thanthe first maximum power.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outputterminal is configured to be coupled to a battery of the electricvehicle.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first current-limitingcircuitry comprises a circuit breaker configured to trip at the firstmaximum current.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a powerconverter configured to convert power from the second input terminal tothe output terminal.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electricalpower provided by the output terminal is at least twenty percent greaterthan the first maximum power.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thesecond input terminal comprises an AC conductor configured to beconnected to a wind turbine.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thesecond input terminal comprises a direct current (DC) conductorconfigured to be connected to a solar power generation system.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the second input terminal comprises a DCconductor configured to be connected to an energy storage system.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the output terminal comprises an ACconductor configured to carry AC power or a DC conductor configured tocarry DC power.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electricalpower provided by the output terminal comprises an AC conductorconfigured to carry AC power and a DC conductor configured to carry DCpower.
 11. A method comprising: receiving, using a first input terminaland first current-limiting circuitry, AC power from an electrical grid,wherein the AC power is limited by the first current-limiting circuitryto a grid maximum current corresponding to a grid maximum power;receiving, using a second input terminal, electrical power from at leastone power source; providing, using an output terminal and secondcurrent-limiting circuitry, electrical power to an electric vehicle; andlimiting, using the second current-limiting circuitry, the power outputto the electric vehicle to a second maximum power that is greater thanthe grid maximum power.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprisingconverting, using a power converter, the electrical power from the atleast one power source.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprisingcoupling a battery to the electric vehicle.
 14. The method of claim 11,further comprising tripping a circuit breaker at the grid maximumcurrent.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the electrical powerprovided by the output terminal is at least twenty percent greater thanthe grid maximum power.
 16. The method of claim 12, further comprisingoutputting AC power using an AC conductor or outputting DC power using aDC conductor.
 17. The method of claim 12, further comprising carrying ACpower using an AC conductor or carrying DC power using a DC conductor.18. A system comprising: an electrical grid; current-limiting circuitryconfigured to limit current input from the electrical grid to a firstmaximum current; a DC-to-AC inverter comprising: a DC input terminalconfigured to be connected to a DC power source, and an AC outputterminal configured to provide AC power, wherein the AC output terminalis configured to be electrically connected to the current-limitingcircuitry via a first AC current path; and an electric vehicle chargingcircuit connected to the AC output terminal via a second AC currentpath, wherein the electric vehicle charging circuit is configured todraw AC power from the AC output terminal via the second AC current pathaccording to a second maximum current that is greater than the firstmaximum current.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the second maximumcurrent is at least twenty percent greater than the first maximumcurrent.
 20. The system of claim 18, wherein the current-limitingcircuitry comprises a circuit breaker configured to trip at the firstmaximum current.